A Few Notes
by hernobleness
Summary: A story told through anecdotes, each set to a song from Awakening's soundtrack. Because sometimes, a whole story can be told through just a few notes. Latest chapter: "There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know": "Welcome back. It's over now." COMPLETE!
1. Serenity

**So I've been needing a way to keep up my English skills (forgetting your native language is easier than one might think), and with my love of Fire Emblem, I decided to take up fanfiction.**

 **This is my first fanfic, started out of the idea to write the stories behind some of the songs of Awakening's soundtrack which I so dearly love. I hope at least one person out there will enjoy this. If not, oh well. It's mostly for me and my dork fantasies anyway. So let's get this started.**

 **Serenity**

With the morning sun came dew coating the blades of grass in the meadow that seemed to extend forever. With the events of the night before, lava having exploded from the ground itself, undead soliders having fallen from the sky, not to mention the brigands they'd faced the previous afternoon... Chrom found it almost hard to believe that such chaos could once again turn into the purest serenity of dawn.

His training regimen having made him into an early riser, Chrom found himself awake at the side of a burned out campfire just at sunrise. Lissa and Frederick lay on the other side of the fire pit, deep in sleep, as well as Sully and Virion, who'd joined their company the night before. But only a robe of deep purple and gold lay in place of the sixth member of the party. Having looked around, Chrom saw no sign of Robin anywhere in the near vicinity. So, wiping the sleep from his eyes and exhaustion from his muscles, he stood and went in search of her. Considering her amnesia and the collapsed state he'd found her in to start with, he worried something could've happened to her. He was at least thankful she'd left her cloak, providing him solace in knowing she hadn''t run away.

So there he found himself, wandering through the expansive meadow, his boots getting wet and slick from dew as he found himself approaching a small riverbank. It didn't take long following the water's clear surface down a ways for him to spot a figure standing at its edge.

Robin stared downwards, lost in thought evidently, her hair down and disheveled from sleeping on the ground and her pale arms bare without her cloak. Chrom sped up his pace to reach her, hoping he wouldn't startle her. She stood so still, and for a person with few memories in their head she looked very pensive. Though just when Chrom thought he would have to shock her out of thought alone, her body left its standstill and began to fall backwards, her white hair blowing forward and covering her face as she collapsed backwards onto the grass.

"Robin!"

Chrom called out her name and broke into a run. He had only just found her, only just started getting to know her. For the gods to pull such a person as her away after so little time, someone with so much potential... It would simply be cruel.

When he reached her side, however, his worry rather suddenly turned into confusion. Her eyes were open, her breathing still steady. Looking down at her, she looked perfectly conscious.

"Robin?" Chrom tried grabbed her attention, worry drawn on his face. "Are you alright?"

It took a second of delay before Robin's answer came.

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied gently, her eyes still focused on the sky above her. "That was nothing but a silly idea of mine."

Chrom took a seat beside her, balancing himself on the slope down to the river. "Oh?"

"I thought," Robin began to expand, sitting up and leaning back on her hands. "Maybe if I tried to recreate the moment when I collapsed it might spark a memory."

"And? Any success?"

With a small laugh, a scoff through her nose, Robin replied, "No."

Chrom felt a pang of sympathy for his new friend. He could see in her eyes she was trying to hide real frustration and perhaps even sadness behind those brown irises. He couldn't imagine losing all of his memories of his life, and he knew he would be desperate to get them back if he ever did. Though it was easy for him to say; he knew what he would be missing. Robin, on the other hand, really _had_ lost all her memories, and she hadn't the faintest idea what it was that was leaving such an empty space in her mind.

"It's odd," Robin continued, gazing out at the half risen sun on the horizon. "I remember basic things like eating and walking. I haven't unlearned how to speak or use weapons. I know that that in front of me is a river and this on the grass is dew. I know dew is formed by a drop in temperature overnight, causing water vapor to condense on the blades of grass. But when it comes to _me_..."

"You remembered your name," Chrom finished for her, only when it became clear she'd trailed off forlornly. He felt it necessary to remind her she hadn't forgotten quite everything about herself.

"Yes, I did," Robin confirmed to herself, sounding a bit encouraged by that statement. Turning to Chrom with a smile, she also added on, "And yours. Somehow."

Chrom chuckled, finding the way she pinched her eyebrows in confusion to be somehow humorous but cute. "Perhaps you were a seer, not a tactician," he jested.

"I hope for the sake of your Shepherds that isn't true!" Robin replied with a laugh. The solemn look on her face was completely replaced by a bright smile now, and Chrom felt pleased to know he'd helped her out of her state. He hoped to be as good of friends with her as his other Shepherds.

They spent a peaceful moment on the grass simply enjoying each others silence. The sound of the river flowing was an incredibly helpful way for Chrom to forget the stresses of the night before as well as the stress to come when they reached Ylisstol. He had been out with Lissa and Frederick for nearly a month on his first official mission, visiting villages and ridding the countrysides of brigands in the name of the capital. As soon as he got back, he knew he would be forced back into his stricter daily routine as well as find himself dealing with the new threat of the undead soldiers.

But in that moment, it was just him and Robin, enjoying one anothers company as they acclimated themselves with each other. There was always an adjustment period to getting to know someone new. This Chrom knew from his experience in recruiting his other Shepherds. However, when he looked at Robin, he felt an inexplicable desire to make that time shorter. He didn't know what, but something about her told him she would be important. There was something so much more intriguing about her than almost anyone else he'd ever met. To find a strategist who was skilled in both magic and swordfighting seemed almost too rare and perfect to be true.

"So tell me," Robin finally spoke up after a short moment, snapping Chrom out of his thoughts. "When will I be meeting these Shepherds of yours?"

"Well," Chrom replied, thinking over the schedule he'd had planned for arriving back in Ylisstol. "We're set to arrive in Ylisstol, the capital city, this afternoon. We'll make a quick stop to see my sister, and then it's off to the garrison. So I'd say this afternoon for sure." He ended with a smile, hoping it was soon enough for her.

"This afternoon?" Robin asked with shock. "That's so soon!"

"Haha! I thought you'd be eager to meet them."

"I am! I am. I just was expecting more time to prepare myself..."

Chrom realized in her slight fidgeting with her hands, wringing around the edges of her wrists, she was nervous. Her face, however, betrayed nothing. "You don't need to prepare yourself too much," he told her with a chuckle. "They're fine people. They'll like you no matter what. I'm sure of it."

Robin almost seemed to doubt him for a fraction of a second. But as quickly as that thought must've entered her mind, it left as she turned to face him. A small smile graced her pale lips as she asked, "Are you sure?"

"Positive," he answered, a smile mirroring hers as he felt his face heat up ever so slightly. Though maybe it was just his imagination. "Trust me, we've seen worse."

Robin's eyebrows suddenly lowered as her smile became an amused smirk. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Realizing his blunder, Chrom found himself struggling for words. Robins intent gaze did nothing to help. "No, no! Nothing bad! Just, well... That- What I meant to say was... The Shepherds are a very unique group of people. Someone with amnesia would be one of the less odd ones of the group. So if that's what you're worried about, then you shouldn't be."

Robin hesitated a moment before letting out a light-hearted scoff. "It's hard to imagine someone with odder circumstances than being found unconscious in a field with no memories," she said, letting her eye contact with Chrom break in favor of gazing back out at the horizon.

"It's hard for most people to imagine a group like the Shepherds," Chrom pointed out. It was true, most of his comrades were 'characters' as the people in the court would call them, a disapproving word disguised in politeness. The Shepherds were people from odd backgrounds, people with eccentric personalities. But there was no doubt they were people he felt he could trust more than any others to fight for Ylisse and be true comrades.

"Well, you seem fond of them at least," Robin said, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards again. "That's encouraging if nothing else."

"I am," replied Chrom in complete honesty. "I am fond of them."

"Then I can't wait to meet them."

As the sun reached its place in the sky, Chrom and Robin remained on the riverbank, peacefully silent once again as they thought about the hours to come. Robin was cautiously excited about meeting the Shepherds she would be commanding, and Chrom was excited to introduce her to them. She was another 'character', though without the condescending connotation. She was interesting and intelligent. The prince already found himself at ease around her, trusting her.

This made it all the more easy to relax along that riverbank. Robin laid back on the grass and closed her eyes. Chrom continued to look at the now risen sun, in the direction of Ylisstol. Though to feel too much stress about the hours to come wasn't quite possible. With the sound of the river, the cool dew on the grass (which thanks to Robin he now knew how it came to be), and the relaxed amnesiac by his side, all he could feel was peace. Serenity.

 **Guess I finally found a decent use for those 30 minute extended versions of songs on YouTube considering I listened to Serenity's like 3 times while writing this.**

 **Technically I could've started this story off with There are Better Places to Take a Nap than on the Ground, but I think people are sick of reading that scene right off the bat by now ;)**


	2. But Frederick, it's nearly dark!

****I always wish we had gotten to see more of Ylisstol in the game. It seemed like such a sweet, friendly city.****

* * *

 ** **But Frederick, it's nearly dark!****

The previous evening all Lissa had done was repeatedly ask how much longer it would be to Ylisstol. Even from atop Frederick's horse, which he'd chivalrously offered to let her ride to provide relief from the blisters on her feet, she'd continued to grumble about the heat, the bugs,...

"I'm hungry!" she'd whined from above down to her three comrades, who all had been walking alongside her steed. "Why didn't we bring better food along?"

"Don't worry, Lissa," Chrom had quelled his sister's bellyaching, still remaining patient and kind with his younger sister. Though upon closer examination of his concentrated gaze, Robin could tell he was beginning to lose his patience. "In a little bit here, we'll stop and make camp for the night."

"What?!" the young girl had squealed disappointedly. Her face had fallen as her mouth remained agape. "You mean we're not making it to Ylisstol today?"

"No, I'm afraid you'll have to put up with us a bit longer."

"I'm sure we could make it, milord," Frederick had chimed in. "If were were to keep up our walk for another 4 hours or so."

Lissa's face had visibly fallen at the estimate. Mouth agape, she protested, "But, Frederick, it's nearly dark!"

Robin had remained mostly quiet until that point, not having found it her place to deal with plans to reach a city she knew nothing of. However, she hadn't seen it unfit to tease young Lissa a bit.

"Lissa," she'd giggled, a pale eyebrow cocked at the young healer. "Which side are you on? Camping or marching?"

"I'm on the side that teleports us there now! I wanna go hooooome," Lissa groaned poutily, throwing her head back in exasperation.

Robin had laughed in response as Chrom said with a smile, "Remember what Emmeryn always told you Lissa: Patience is a virtue, and-"

"Virtue is a grace," Lissa had drawn out with a slight roll of her eyes, sounding as though this were the thousandth time she'd heard that saying. "I know."

* * *

The next afternoon, Lissa's wait had paid off.

Finally, the young girl – princess of the realm as Robin now knew her – was back on the streets of her hometown. After a quick meeting with the Exalt in the palace, Lissa had dragged Robin back out to visit the Shepherds garrison, though not before taking a "short" detour through the city.

"Oh, I have so much I need to show you!" Lissa's excitement was tangible as she dragged Robin behind her by the arm. Admittedly, this was difficult, as the tactician's curious eyes lingered on every building, and her body tried to remain behind with them.

She'd never seen such a big city before. At least, not to her memory. Every way her eyes looked were tall buildings of warm brick, market stalls filled to the brim with foods and unique handicrafts, and people. People in every corner, moving in every direction – a flowing mass of fabrics and hair colors and skin tones... Robin never imagined any one area could be so full of life at once.

Being in such a lively place... It wasn't hard to see why Lissa had been so eager to get back.

"Home grown peaches! Three for 5 Gold!"

"You there, young man! You look like you'd be interested in the finest pocket knives south of the border wall!"

"Elsie! I'm so glad you made it!"

"My paw says it could take three weeks 'fore we can get that pig pen all up 'n' ready to go."

Conversations from all around her flooded her ears as she followed behind Lissa. From ahead of her came the giggles of two young women, arm-in-arm as a group of attractive men passed them by. Across the street were two farmers trying to unload cages of chickens in front of a butchery. An artist almost hit her with the easel bag he had over his shoulder as Lissa pulled her forward.

Everywhere people were together, shopping and chatting and going about their lives. As Robin stared in wonder, she couldn't believe so many separate things could be happening at once.

She decided right then and there that she was a fan of big cities.

"Ooh!" Lissa halted and pulled at Robin's elbow excitedly, snapping her out of her trance. That Lissa's arm wasn't hurting by that point from dragging her new friend around was a miracle...

"Wait right here!" The young princess commanded with an excited smile. Her gray eyes sparkled as she proclaimed, "I know what I'm buying you first! These things taste so good, you won't know what to do with yourself!"

"What are they?" Robin asked, her mouth already starting to water against her will. But she'd not eaten since the campfire the night before...

"You'll see!"

In a blur, Lissa unlinked her arm from Robin's and darted off towards a booth on the roadside. Robin let out a lighthearted sigh; that girl certainly was a ball of energy. However, it was clear this tour of the city was meant in kind, so Robin said nothing against it. Though she was incredibly anxious to meet the Shepherds, she did feel a certain pull towards the city. The bustling masses, the unexplored streets... It was all just waiting to be discovered.

Robin felt a smile crawl onto her lips just before the sun glinted in her eyes. She raised a hand to her brow as a visor, allowing her head to gaze upwards at a small clock tower in the distance. How idyllic it looked... Elegant, white stone, green trees in its background and bright banners waving on the streets in its foreground.

A contented sigh escaped the amnesiac's lips. She could get used to remembering sights like this.

A tap on her shoulder a moment later alerted her to Lissa's presence at her side once more. With a satisfied smile, she held in her hands two round treats covered in a golden glaze on sticks.

"Here, try one!" she insisted, holding one out to Robin, who took it gingerly in her hand.

"What is it?" she asked Lissa as she curiously examined the street food. As she twirled the stick between her fingers, the sun glinted off the glaze on the... Fig? Pear? Gourd?

"It's a honey-coated pear!" Lissa replied, the bounce in her voice making it evident that this was a favorite treat of hers. "They're all over Ylisstol, but these are the best ones. Go ahead, try it! It's delicious, I promise!"

The younger girl brought the pear up to her mouth, though Robin didn't look long enough to realize she was not, in fact, biting into it yet. In a moment of courage, the first time snacker brought the honey-coated treat straight to her mouth and took a large chunk out of it.

Or at least she tried to.

"Ahh!" A sharp crack resounded from her mouth as she let out a groan, holding a hand up in front of her mouth. A rough patch of broken honey and barely-touched pear lay behind on her treat. "Oww! My teeeef! How can you eat thif tuff?!"

Lissa hastily removed the pear from her mouth, sugar and saliva around her lips, and she began to laugh. "You have to suck on it a bit first, silly! You'll break all of your teeth out if you don't!"

Robin let out a scoff, still holding a hand over her wounded front teeth, as the corners of her mouth pulled upwards. "I think I'm already part of the way there," she remarked sarcastically.

Lissa giggled and grabbed Robin by the wrist, pulling the pear down. "You don't have to eat it if you don't want to. Chrom hates them too, but he always buys one when we're in town anyway. He just gives his to me."

Lissa suggestively nudged her friend's elbow, taking a bite from her pear as she glanced down at the one in Robin's hand with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows. Robin willingly obliged and handled her treat over with a smile. The dull pain in her teeth was all the tasting she needed of that thing!

Over the course of the next half hour, Lissa – happily sucking on her honey-coated pears and smearing sugar all around her lips (like a true royal) – took Robin to a number of other food stands, buying numerous exotic fruits and baked goods (or simply receiving them for free with a flash of her smile and the vendors' realizations that she was the princess). Following that, they found a stand selling clothing, another selling jewelry, and yet another selling leather works. It was at the last stand that a bound journal, red and ornate, caught Robin's eye. Lissa bought it for her as a gift; her first new possession.

A secondhand book stand came next – where Robin received three small books in addition to her journal – and a final booth selling sweetbread before the princess had finally decided they'd seen enough for the day.

* * *

"I just knew you were a bookworm!" Lissa declared when, at last, they began to make their way to the garrison, gesturing to Robin's gifts: the journal and the three books. "You have that clever, smart look."

Robin let out a gentle laugh, opening her coat to stow her new belongings away in the inner pockets. "I hope that's a compliment."

"Oh, definitely!" Lissa assured her with a reassuring smile. "I was never very into books. We have the best library at the palace, though! I never used it much... Just for lessons, but I think you'll love it!"

"Really?" asked Robin, her voice perking up. She somehow didn't find it shocking that Lissa wasn't the type to spend her days in the library. She seemed far too active for something so stationary. Out in the city, active and social, seemed to be where she best fit in. But for an amnesiac, a room full of information couldn't hurt in a quest to regain some knowledge and memories...

"Yeah! I'll get Chrom to show you around if you want," Lissa proposed.

Robin didn't find that a bad idea at all. She'd need to get the know the prince better anyhow, seeing as she'd be working for his army. What better way to start than in a familiar place such as a library? However, this plan didn't have a chance to run far, as Lissa found a hitch in it before Robin even had a chance to show her approval.

After a short 'hmm', Lissa mused, "Though he hardly uses the library either... He'll probably tell you he does to try to impress you, but he doesn't."

Robin chuckled at Lissa's comment, wondering if all siblings had such a teasing relationship as the prince and princess.

"We'll have to ask Emmeryn," Lissa continued. "Or I bet we could ask Miriel when we get to the Shepherds' garrison. She's one of our mages – practically lives in the library!"

Robin couldn't hardly imagine bothering the exalt herself for a simple library tour. But this Shepherd mage did sound interesting...

As they neared the garrison, Robin's mind filled with ideas of who would await her once she reached her destination. A mage of high intellect, perhaps a few dozen gallant knights – experts in their class and training machines, probably a fair number of pegasus knights – speedy and agile on their carefully bred mounts...

Her heart beat a bit faster in either fear or anticipation to meet these elite warriors. The Shepherds... And what a noble name for them!

When Lissa pointed out the garrison and announced they'd arrived, Robin could scarcely contain herself. A small, stone fortress on the edge of a training ground dotted with targets and dummies, all sitting in the shadow of...

"Lissa... Is that the royal palace right next to us?" Robin couldn't decide if she was amused or annoyed to see the white stone of the castle towering over her, perched on its hill in front of the slowly setting sun. "We were a five minute walk away this whole time?!"

Her aching feet... Her aching stomach! That "short" detour, and the garrison was practically on the palace grounds all along!

"Huh!" Lissa exclaimed, an impish smile on her face when she turned to face Robin. Blissfully insincere, she claimed with a small laugh, "I never noticed!"

Robin could do nothing but chuckle and shake her head in disbelief. In honesty, looking at the young princess and feeling the gifts she'd received from her resting in the inner pocket of her cloak, she couldn't be too upset. She had beautiful gifts, she was fed, and she'd made – she hoped – a new friend.

All she could do was smile and keep walking alongside her. She'd been through Ylisstol with Lissa and made a friend. A connection. Some memories.

Now it was time to go through the garrison with the Shepherds and make some more.

* * *

 ** **So I actually hate pears, meaning the taste description on those honey-covered pears was not so much an option. Also not the biggest fan of honey XD But somehow Ylisstol strikes me as a very honey and pears and sweetbread kind of place. Those are all very classic, pure, classy foods.****


	3. It appears the capital was spared

**I always picture Chrom and Sully having been pretty good friends, what with running around playing Goblin King as kids and Sully just being one of the boys.**

* * *

 **It appears the capital was spared the chaos**

The doors to the council room lay far down the hallway of the palace, a very welcome distance growing ever larger between them and Chrom's retreating back. His elder sister and the other generals and city officials had stayed behind while he'd taken his leave. A march to Regna Ferox was decided on, and he needed to track down his Shepherds to deliver the news.

It seemed he'd grown unused to the tense, formal environment of the palace counsel since he'd been gone. He felt more weighted down after his single hour in the council room than he had in his months of tracking down dangerous, blood-thirsty bandits. Though by tomorrow morning, he reminded himself, he'd be back out in the open fields of Ylisse and heading north.

It was true that he'd have liked a bit more time home to enjoy being in the castle: visiting his sister, sleeping in his bed, having warm meals. However, the feeling of Falchion in his hand, the smell of grass in the air and soil beneath his feet... Those would be fine enough compensations for the time being.

The sound of thick, oaken doors being pulled open drew his attention to his side. Knights began pouring out of one of the conference rooms, chattering between one another with mixtures of excitement and worry. It seemed they'd just gotten released from their briefing...

Frederick and Phila had both bowed out of the counsel meeting earlier than Chrom, leaving to inform their respective knights of their upcoming missions against the Risen. The prince had stayed behind with the generals, the ambassadors and the Exalt to discuss the political implications of the new enemy.

Chrom peeked in the conference room over the flood of knights on their way back tot he training grounds. Each passed him with a nod of the head or a "m'lord", which he returned with a smile. At the front, gathered with the other lieutenants and generalas, he saw Frederick. Back straight, brow furrowed... Clearly he was deep in discussion. Chrom would just have to go to the garrison without him for now.

The prince allowed himself to flow away from the door with the sea of armor around him. As they left the threshold, the knights spread out through the hall, though they all remained headed toward the barracks, which just happened to be near the Shepherds' garrison. Chrom tried to pick up on some of the conversations along the way.

"...far do you think we'll be going?"

"I doubt they're anything to worry about! I mean..."

"... think they'll try to eat our brains?"

"Don't be an idiot, Edwin."

"Captain!"

His eyes widened, shocked to hear someone calling his name amidst the other voices. He halted and turned over his shoulder to see none other than Sully making her way down the hall towards him. Her red armor was rather easy to spot in the mass of knights in blue.

Chrom smiled as his friend approached him. Some company would be welcome!

"Oh, hey, Sully," he greeted the knight with a smile. He couldn't have been gladder to see her of all people. After hours in the counsel room, getting to relax his speech would be a welcome blessing.

Where Sully was concerned, plain speech was a given. Ever since they were children, she had been one of the few people who didn't treat Chrom with the same formality as the other playmates arranged for him. She spoke freely and allowed him the same courtesy. They could trust one another.

Sully took a place by Chrom's side, and the two continued their conversation as they walked through the palace halls. "Heading down to the garrison?" the knight asked.

"Yes," replied Chrom. The word 'garrison' sent adrenaline through his chest. Over the course of his mission across Ylisse, he'd missed the Shepherds and their camp even more than his own bedroom. "I have to deliver word of the march tomorrow."

"Nice! Everyone's gonna be happy to finally get some action!" Sully exclaimed with a laugh. With their general's and lieutenant's absences, the Shepherds had been without leader and without action for far too long. A group of soldiers such as themselves got antsy when left sitting idly for too long.

"Really?"

"Hell yeah! Why do you think I was so damned anxious to find you and your party last night when I heard what was going on?"

A worried and judging glance followed from one of the knights passing the duo, a young woman likely off-put by Sully's use of such brash language, with the prince no less. Sully caught her eye and simply raised a red eyebrow at her, silently daring her to speak out. The onlooker scurried away and held her tongue.

Chrom chuckled. With that strong will of hers it only made sense that she'd be itching get back to the field the most. She must've heard about the skirmish with the brigands in Southtown the previous evening and hopped right on her horse, hoping to help out if any other problems arose. Indeed they did arise, and he was thankful she'd been there to lend a hand.

"Haha. Well, I hope the other Shepherds will share your ambition." Though he knew that few in his personal army reached Sully's level of dedication, he had an inkling they would be more than ready to get back to action.

The only question that remained, in light of the knights' separate meetings and plans, was whether or not Sully and Stahl would be coming along. The cavaliers and pegasus knights were being sent to scour the countryside for more Risen, ensuring no villages faced surprise attacks. As far as Chrom knew, a few longer-term posts were being given out, but the rest of the deployed soldiers would be making quick trips to a goal, searching for the enemy, and reporting back to the palace shortly thereafter.

"I hope you'll be back in time to march with us, won't you?" he questioned his friend.

"You bet!" Sully replied heartily. With a clap on his back that landed a little too hard, she ensured him, "No way I'd miss a march up to Ferox. Especially not for some regular old patrol! And you just know if I didn't have to be back by morning, they'd put me on one of the distance squads with that idiot, Elliott. I _still_ can't stand that guy!"

Chrom laughed at his friend's rant, well used to her venting about some of the knights who got on her nerves. Poor Elliott had joined the same time Sully did, and Chrom had been hearing stories about him ever since that always had him busting a gut.

"I was thinking about inviting him to the Shepherds, actually," the prince teased, a smirk already growing on his lips.

"Chrom!" Sully warned him with a punch on the arm. He rubbed the wound, laughing guiltily. "The Shepherds is where I go to recharge my damn patience. It's how I manage to get on with him without trying to kick his pampered, lazy arse halfway to Valm and back."

Still letting out a few loose chuckles, Chrom settled down and made peace. "Fine, fine. Well regardless, I'm glad you'll be coming along tomorrow."

"Glad to be coming along."

"So if you won't be on one of the long distance squads, how far will you be going on your patrol?"

Sully pointed an armored finger ahead of herself, gesturing casually in the direction of the knights' training grounds. "On my way to get orders now, but I don't think I'm going far. Frederick knows he and I need to be back by morning."

"Yes. Although..." Chrom thought of the long list of incidents the Minister for Defense had read off during counsel. Countless villages all over Ylisse had seen Risen spawning in their outskirts since the night before. The patrols wouldn't be limited to Ylisstol's suburbs, but rather every inch of the land. "It appears the capital was spared the chaos, but the lands around it weren't so lucky. I'd wager you'd be going as far as Southtown or Themis, if not farther. We have to leave for Ferox at dawn. You're sure you'll make it?"

Sully nodded, self-assured as she placed a fist over her heart. "Absolutely," she swore. "Knight's honor."

Chrom went through the mental checklist of who he'd have with him along the mission: Vaike, Maribelle and Lissa, perhaps Sumia, Miriel, Robin, and now Sully and Frederick were for certain. That left only Stahl. And perhaps another:

"Can I count on..." Chrom began to inquire about the archer they'd encountered the previous evening. He'd returned to Ylisstol with Sully ahead of the main party that morning, and Chrom hadn't heard a word of him since arriving back in the capital. "Blast, what was his name? _Virion_ 's presence as well?"

Sully let out a snicker. "Dunno. I managed to get the ruffly bastard stuck on Frederick's brigade," she answered. It seemed he would be sticking with the knights to help purge the Risen. "If all goes according to plan, he'll annoy the metal monster so much, he won't live to see morning, period."

Chrom could practically see Frederick's look of annoyance as Virion launched into another dramatic monologue. Frederick was a patient man, but even he would be challenged to survive another mission with the new archer so soon after recovering from the first one.

"Merciless as always, I see," Chrom laughed, hard and genuine.

"You got that right."

It was then that the hallway finally entered the open air, a courtyard lining the left side and a path to the knights' campgrounds at its end. In the distance, down a hill to where the barracks were, a crowd of metal was gathering. The Ylissean knights stood in the center of their camp, likely awaiting their orders regarding their new missions.

"Well, here's where I step out," said Sully, gesturing towards the camp with her thumb. She couldn't miss hearing the orders being passed out. "See you in the morning, Chrom."

"'Til morning, Sully," Chrom replied with a friendly wave of his hand.

"Tell the others I said hey." Sully ducked out of the hallway, heading in the opposite direction of the prince as he continued on his way to the Shepherds' garrison. Though before she'd gone too far, she called back over her shoulder, "And make sure Vaike doesn't creep the hell out of poor Robin. We don't wanna lose her already!"

A problem Chrom hadn't yet considered, and yet a problem he probably should've.

With a worried but amused chuckle, he called back, "I'll try."

He continued around to the other side of the courtyard and made a left, continuing through the inner halls to the front door of the palace. He certainly hoped the Shepherds were on their good behavior with their new recruit...

Though just in case, perhaps he should quicken his step.


	4. Here we are! The Shepherds' Garrison!

***Update* Planning to update this chapter like I did chapters 2 and 3 to make it less novelization-y. _Planning,_ so it's not done yet ;) Sorry if any continuity errors pop up!**

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 **In case the four updates within 24 hours hasn't made it obvious, I'm in a very writing-happy mood today. Trying to pack in as many chapters as I can before work starts again tomorrow T.T**

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 **Here we are! The Shepherd's Garrison!**

"Well, here we are! The Shepherds' garrison!" Lissa beamed at the new tactician, spreading her arms out wide to show off their surrounding room. "Go ahead, make yourself at home."

Robin walked through the threshold, her eyes pulling her head with them as they wandered over every inch of the wooden shelves and crates. Tapestries depicting heroes, various insignias, and even world maps were hung every few feet along the walls of gray stone, partially covered at their bottoms by stray weapons and armors being stored in open crates on the ground. Through open wooden doors in the back, she could see an extensive field of trodden down grass filled with targets and stray armor.

In the middle of the room, a burly man with tan skin spoke to a beautiful young woman in pink armor. Talking vividly and loudly, he made a pounding motion with his hands, prompting the woman's eyes to widen and her skin to go paler.

In the back, a woman in riding boots sat perched on a crate with a book in her hands. As soon as she looked up at, a squeal came rushing out of her mouth. Her book slammed closed as she hopped off the crate, beginning to charge straight towards Robin.

 _Oh no._ Robin panicked. _How does she know me? Is this someone from my past? What do I say when she-_

"Lissa, my treasure! There you are!"

 _Oh, right. Lissa..._ she thought, relief surely being betrayed by the look on her face.

Lissa found herself wrapped up in pink sleeves and covered in hair as blonde as her own, though much more elegant and finely groomed. Robin found herself wondering at the irony that the princess seemed to be the disheveled one of the two.

"Oh, hey, Maribelle," Lissa greeted the girl with a smile and a small pat on the back.

"Oh hey' yourself!" Maribelle pulled back, looking the princess harshly in the eyes. "Do you have any idea how many gray hairs I sprouted fretting over you?"

Lissa grinned sheepishly, evidently unashamed. "Don't you worry. I can handle a battle or two. Though I could've done without the bugs and bear meat. Right, Robin?"

Robin found herself startled at being addressed, barely managing to let out an, "Oh... yeah!" before she found herself surrounded by more people.

"Hey, squirt!"

"Welcome back, Lissa."

Two more voices, the muscular man and the woman in pink from earlier had now walked over to her side to greet Lissa as well.

"Where's Chrom?" the man asked. Clasping is hand around the handle of the axe on his back, he complained in a deep, loud voice, "I been waitin' all month for our sparring match."

Lissa let go of Maribelle and answered teasingly, "Chrom has better things to do with his time than kicking your butt at sparring, Vaike."

"Haha that ain't true! He's still got a thing or two he could learn from ol' Teach." Vaike smirked and patted his biceps. Robin couldn't tell if she was on edge with this man or comforted, his boisterousness taking away her feeling of needing to be on her most proper behavior.

Upon hearing Lissa would be taking her to meet the Shepherds, who she now knew to be elite royal soldiers and _not_ , in fact, sheep herders, her brain immediately conjured up an image of what she would be met with. She'd expected to walk into a crowded garrison with an air of urgency, full of bustling crowds of strong men – which, if she was being honest, wouldn't have been all bad. Though she'd been worried she'd feel out of place, almost inferior to the highly trained, serious soldiers she'd had in mind. Seeing a small gathering with two young women and a sparring-hungry man... It made her feel a bit more like maybe she could fit in in the Shepherds for sure.

"Oh so you're 'Teach' now?" Lissa questioned, clearly trying to suppress a giggle. "When did that happen?"

"We don't know..." the woman in pink armor replied quietly. Robin got a strong sense this was the peacemaker of the group. From the way she stood to the way she spoke, she seemed to radiate kindness.

"Yet another act of buffoonery to add to his _ever expanding_ repertoire," Maribelle added on, sarcasm slicing through the air like a knife.

"You bet I got an expanding-... Wait...!" Vaike's face soured, him only seeming to catch that this was _not_ a compliment a moment after he'd begun speaking.

 _I'll have to remember that._ Robin mentally took note of Vaike's behavior, her tactician's mind ever at work. _Acts first; thinks second._

"Beg pardon, but when may we be seeing the captain?" the young woman segued, gently drawing the topic away from an impending bickering match. _Definitely the nice one of the group._

"Yes, poor Sumia's simply been beside herself with concern. She's been scanning the horizon all day waiting for your arrival," said Maribelle, a look of over-dramatized sympathy on her elegant features as she looked at Sumia. She sounded honestly sympathetic until the second half of her statement came out of her mouth: "She'd probably have earned fewer bruises if she'd been blindfolded."

"Aww, Sumia! That's so sweet of you to worry about us!" Lissa's face lit up with a touched smile, sweetly bowing her head towards Sumia.

"Well, of course I'd worry! Chrom is our- _you're_ our captain- er, royal family! And then there's Frederick and... Sully and..." Sumia's voice trailed off as her eyes ran over Robin, only just then realizing she had no idea who the strange woman in robes was. Robin tugged the edges of her sleeves down and brushed her hands over her wrists – a subconscious habit she'd begun to realize she had – before opening her mouth to introduce herself. However, the group didn't stop talking long enough for her to get a word in.

"Yeah, who's the stranger?" Vaike's loud voice questioned. Having cut Robin off, she was now left to close her mouth once again and wait for another chance to say, 'Pleasure to meet you. I'm Robin.'

"No one's stranger than you Vaike, but allow me to introduce Robin!" Lissa's arms flung to her side and gestured to the girl in question. Robin smiled kindly at the other Shepherds, hoping to make a good first impression. "We met her a couple days ago, and Chrom's decided to make her our new tactician."

"The army's tactician after a mere two days. How... _impressive_." Maribelle's voice would've sounded completely polite to anyone not paying close attention. Unfortunately for Robin, she had listened more intently and caught the hesitation and suspicion in that final word. A light blush crept onto her cheeks. She knew what Maribelle was implying.

 _Does she think I didn't earn this job honestly?_ Robin thought, equal parts worried and offended. _I suppose it is odd to get a commanding position after such a short time, but to think she'd believe that I would cheat my way into the tactician's role! And through... unsavory methods. Please. I'm a tactician, not a harlot._

"She _is_ impressive!" answered Lissa, completely missing Maribelle's hidden slight. Much to Robin's relief, she maintained her innocent enthusiasm and stood by her claims that the new tactician was truly worthy of the title. "You should see all the tricks she's got up her sleeve!"

"Oh yeah? Can she do this?" Vaike interrupted, letting out a large belch from the depths of his stomach. A satisfied grin appeared on his face once he'd finished. Next to him, the prim Maribelle waved a gloved hand in front of her nose with a look of disgust.

"Ugh, Vaike that was abhorrent!" she scolded. Robin, however, found herself letting out a giggle, deciding that yes, she was definitely put at easy by Vaike. Somehow, the challenge of a belch-off seemed to make the environment seem so much more... familiar and open to her. She couldn't help but join in.

Letting out a burp of her own – which wasn't terribly difficult considering all the food Lissa had made her try as they passed through Ylisstol – Robin could already feel a bit of tension and nervousness within her escape. Though she worried how Maribelle might react, she couldn't help but also be a bit amused by the noblewoman's apparent dismay. The banter between the Shepherd's was quite fun to play witness to.

"And Robin, don't encourage him!" Maribelle complained, now directing her annoyance towards the tactician. Robin knew she should've felt guilty, but somehow she just couldn't bring herself to stop the smile creeping onto her face.

 _This might not be so bad..._ she thought, tentatively happy. _Being here, fitting in._

"Yeah! This girl's got a mouth on her!" Vaike chuckled, patting Robin on the back and clamping a hand on her shoulder. The action itself hurt, but Robin felt a bit better for it. "And not in the bad way!"

"Honestly Vaike, you pollute even the people around you with your vulgarity." Maribelle chastised the bodybuilder, her mouth pulling into a tight frown as her eyes narrowed. Though in no time at all, those eyes were incriminatingly refocused on Robin. "Though I'd hoped our new tactician was cut of finer cloth than to join in with the likes of you."

Turning sharply on her heel, she strutted away from the group, leaving Robin feeling a bit guilty. She considered that perhaps she'd misinterpreted Maribelle's annoyance, something she'd read as being commonplace banter, almost like that between siblings. The feeling of belonging she'd felt not a moment ago seemed to have quickly turned into feeling out of place once more in the silent wake Maribelle left behind.

"Don't take it to heart, Robin," Sumia calmed the tactician kindly. "Maribelle can be a bit quick to flare up, but after a while she'll warm up to you."

"I didn't mean to offend her..." Robin replied, still staring at the spot where Maribelle had disappeared into the crates and shelves. Though when she looked back to the group of Shepherds remaining by her, she saw Sumia and Lissa's comforting smiles. They didn't seem to be deterred by her behavior before, so perhaps Sumia was right. "But I suppose if she is the way you say, I'll make up with her later."

"Good idea!" Lissa replied, approving of her plan.

"In any case," Robin began, trying to get in some remaining shred of a proper introduction. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances."

"Yours too, Rob- buh- Captain!" Sumia began with a smile which quickly turned into a wide-eyed look of shock. Robin turned over her shoulder to see deep blue clothing and a white cape. Chrom had just entered the room behind her.

Turning back to Sumia, Robin realized a blush as pink as the girls armor had crept onto her cheeks. Robin thought back on Sumia's stuttering response when speaking about her worry at the 'royal family's absence, and now her blush when seeing Chrom... _Hm. Childhood sweethearts, perhaps?_

Sumia took two bold steps forward to greet the captain before a stroke of misfortune hit her in the form of loose papers on the ground. Her boots caught on the slick surface of the scraps, prompting her feet to slip out from under her and send her flying forward to land on the ground.

"Sumia! Are you alright?" Chrom inched towards the downed girl, worry written on his face. Robin could feel her theory being proven a bit more. "Those boots of yours again?"

 _Boots?_ Robin asked herself, confusion surely sneaking onto her face. _How oblivious is he? Perhaps this is rather an unrequited crush._

"If 'boots' is the new word for hormo- Ow!" Vaike began to cackle before being pinched by a disapproving Lissa. Robin didn't register too much, but based on what she was learning of Vaike, she assumed it would've been a joke in ill humor.

"No, I- I mean yes! I... It's good to see you've returned." Sumia sheepishly pulled herself off the ground with a sigh. Robin felt a bit sorry for her, resolving to be extra nice to her if she ever got the chance. She seemed like the kind of girl who could be a good friend.

"And with company," Vaike added on, rubbing the pinch wound on his arm.

"So you all got a chance to meet Robin?" Chrom asked, a proud smile appearing on his face as he placed a hand on the new tactician's shoulder. Robin gave a small smile at the rest of the Shepherds, hoping they'd have good things to say about their meeting.

"Yep, they did!" Lissa confirmed cheerfully. "Except Miriel and Stahl... they must still be out."

"I'm sure Robin will run into Miriel in the library!" answered Chrom, almost with humor in his voice. "As for Stahl, I'm sure he's just at the apothecary's or in the kitchens."

"A healing chef?" Robin asked, looking up over her shoulder at the captain. She wasn't sure if she meant her question seriously or as a jest.

"Haha!" Chrom chuckled, evidently having taken it as the latter. "Rather an eternally hungry son of an apothecary in town."

"Ah. And Miriel?"

"Our mage with a talent for knowing everything there is to know."

Chrom smiled at the newest Shepherd, eager for her to meet the other two. Removing his hand from her shoulder, he continued his speech.

"Well, since it's only the four of you, this won't be the big announcement I'd thought it'd be," Chrom continued, straightening his back as his face steeled slightly. "But we're beginning a march to Regna Ferox at dawn tomorrow."

"Regna Ferox?" Robin asked curiously. _Another place I've not heard of, it seems. Or simply forgotten._

"A united kingdom of barbarian tribes to our north, or so I've heard." Sumia answered with a quiet confidence, looking to Chrom for confirmation.

"Not barbarians – warriors," he corrected kindly. "And strong ones at that. Emmeryn has agreed to let us request a meeting with the Khan to request aid against Plegia."

"Why don't we bring the Exalt along?" Robin asked, seeing an opening to start testing the waters as tactician. Her mind at work was happy and eager to provide input. "She has a very peaceful presence... I'm sure she'd be a great help to us."

Robin thought back on her meeting with the Exalt earlier that day. From her voice to her posture to the way her hand rested around her staff, the woman seemed to exude an aura of peacefulness. Noble and graceful, Robin could only imagine Exalt Emmeryn would be an immense help on a diplomatic mission.

"Normally she would go, but given recent events..." A look of worry crept into Chrom's eyes, and Robin knew he was referencing the strange beasts they'd battled the night before. Not to mention the inferno that had appeared out of nowhere... "I think we all would feel safer if she were to stay in the capital. So the task becomes ours. Now this mission is strictly voluntary, so if any-"

"Count me in!" Lissa piped up, a smile on her face as her hand shot up in the air.

"I'm in too! You'll be needin' ol' Teach around for such a delicate mission." Vaike patted the axe on his back as a smirk took over his lips.

"Teach...?" Chrom questioned quietly.

"I wouldn't open that bag of eels again if I were you..." Robin whispered to him, a coy, knowing smile on her lips which was returned by the prince. Based on the argument that almost took place last time the topic was mentioned, she didn't think it wise to reopen it for discussion.

"I-..." Sumia's stuttering drew the captain and the tactician away from their short aside to one another as the young woman's hands began to fidget.

"Sumia?" Chrom asked, eyebrows raised expectantly.

"I think I'll stay behind this time," she replied, her voice sounding unsure of itself. Her eyes avoided contact with any of the others as she tried to make herself seem small. "I'm not sure I'm ready for such a big mission yet."

"Well, if that's how you feel... I'm sure Robin would love to have some company around the castle."

"What?" Robin exclaimed louder than intended. Whipping around to face (a startled) Chrom head on, she protested, "I'm not staying behind!"

"I- I just assumed... I mean, of course you're welcome to come along," Chrom replied, shrinking a bit under the sharp gaze of her brown eyes. "It's just you're still relatively new. I didn't think you'd feel up to such a large first task."

"Of course I am. I'm the Shepherds' tactician, aren't I?" Robin answered on the contrary, her arms crossing as her examining gaze bore deeper into her captain's eyes.

"Yes, you are." Chrom couldn't tell if he found it very intimidating or very refreshing, the pride and determination he saw in her. After such a short time, she was already ready to take on the role of the army's tactician, and moreover, proud and eager to do so.

"Then you can count me in too," Robin stated, her tone making it clear there was no room for argument. With a small teasing smile, she continued, "No time like the present to get some hands on experience."

"Well, I like your attitude!" Chrom let out a chuckle and a smile. Turning his attention back to Sumia, he suggested, "If you want, Sumia, you and Robin could work together gaining some practice. It's your choice of course, but like Robin said, there's an importance to hands on experience. Some lessons can only be learned on the battlefield."

"I'd like that. How about it Sumia?" Robin looked eagerly at the young woman, remembering her will to be nice to her.

"Um..." She seemed to want to say no, still looking unsure of herself. However, with a deep breath and visible resolve, she replied, "Okay. If you think it wise, Captain."

"Wonderful!" Robin met Sumia's eyes and was sure to give a genuine smile, which was returned with one in equal measure.

"That's it, then," Chrom stated with a small clap, bringing the discussion to a close. "Everyone, start getting your things prepared. We march shortly after dawn. Vaike, you'll let Stahl know about the mission?" Looking Vaike in the eyes, he gently made it clear it was an order and not a question.

"Teach is on the job!" Vaike confirmed with a thumbs-up.

"Okay. If anyone sees Sully, let her and the new archer – what was his name? Ah, Virion! Let them know as well. I'm heading to the library now, so I'll tell Miriel there," Chrom replied, checking the other missing Shepherds off his list of people to tell. "Robin, would you come with me? I wanted to give you a few books on Regna Ferox before we go so you're up to speed."

Relieved to hear she would be getting guidance, Robin replied with a smile, "Of course."

As she and Chrom began to leave the garrison, she heard Vaike behind them tease, "Sure, 'give 'er a few books," followed by a wolf whistle. She blushed and found herself wanting to laugh, though she could see Chrom shooting him a dirty look in her peripheral and bit her lip to resist.

The Shepherds were nothing like she'd expected, but that was a good thing. As she made her way with Chrom to the library she found herself feeling far less out of place than before her visit to the garrison, and she knew this to be a good sign.

Between Vaike's big personality, Maribelle's odd temperment, and Sumia's kindness, she knew she had found herself in a group she'd be extremely lucky to be a part of.

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 **Wow, that wound up being longer than I intended 0.0 Just short of 3500 words.**


	5. We'd best prepare for combat

**We'd best prepare for combat, just to be safe**

"Robin, it's just a march! Get your nose out of that book!" Lissa joked with the tactician, not even earning a glance from the woman from over the cover of her strategy book, which currently was stuffed full of papers being scribbled on. The Shepherds had been on the march for roughly an hour, and though it was true that all was going well so far, there was no such thing as over planning in Robin's mind. "We aren't expecting to run into any armies on the way."

"Still," Robin muttered over the scratching of her quill. "We'd best prepare for combat, just to be safe. There's no telling what surprises might jump out at us."

Lissa teasingly rolled her eyes before tugging at her brother's sleeve. "Chrom," she whined. "Do you see what we picked up in that field?"

"A hard-working and dedicated tactician," said Chrom with an air of humor in his voice. He glanced down into his little sister's eyes with raised eyebrows. "You could learn a thing or two from her, Lissa."

"Hey! Not fair!"

Robin smiled from behind her book of notes, a slight blush creeping onto her face. She was happy to be making a good impression. Even more so that she was beginning to prove herself worthy.

"Lissa, how many uses would you say your staff still had in it before we need to get it repaired?" she asked, gingerly taking the iron rod out of the young healers hands. Carefully, she examined its surface, noticing chips and signs of wear and tear in it.

"Hmm..." The young girl squinted at her staff, thinking hard to come up with an estimate. She had used it quite a bit during the mission through Ylisse with Chrom and Frederick. "Five or six maybe."

Robin nodded, giving the staff one more twirl in her hands to check its durability. Quite unexpectedly, this motion triggered a flash of whitish blue light in front of her face. With a yelp, the tactician jumped back in surprise.

Guiltily holding the staff out to be taken back by its owner, Robin corrected, "Make that four or five."

With a flip to a large piece of paper in the back half of the book, done quickly and surely enough to show that the chaos within the covers was completely organized in the owner's mind, Robin scribbled down one or two more notes before scurrying off behind the commander and his sister, beginning to quiz the other soldiers.

"Stahl! Tell me, you wield both a sword and a lance, right?"

"Well, I'm more of a sword guy, but I've been trying to..."

Their conversation faded out of Chrom and Lissa's earshot as they continued to march forward, leading the small army forward. They had set out at dawn, and now that a good hour had passed, the sun was comfortably bright in the sky, a cool morning breeze making the march still bearable.

"We really did get lucky didn't we?" asked Lissa with a smile. Chrom looked down at her, waiting for her to explain further. "Right when we thought we'd lost the only good tactician we'd ever find, there was Robin!"

Lissa had finished with a happy giggle, leading Chrom to smile in return. It was true. Not an hour before finding Robin in that field, they had struggled to get by in a fight against a particularly odd pack of beasts. Chrom wasn't blind to the fact that it was largely in part due to the fact that he and Frederick had been fighting melee style, trying to slash through enemies on strength and dumb luck alone as they had against the brigands during their mission. He was miserable when it came to developing strategies, and he knew it. Had it not been for the band of heroes chasing the beasts themselves, headed by a royal tactician by the name of Corrin, they wouldn't have made it out alive.

He had been hoping Corrin would've been willing to lead the Shepherds, but all hope of that was slashed upon the foreign hero's decline. And then, as if sent by the gods, another tactician appeared right in his path.

A tactician who was dedicated, eager, intelligent, and evidently very talented. Not only could she wield both swords and tomes, but based on her slip-up with Lissa's staff, it now seemed she had healing potential as well. Truth be told, he was glad Corrin had declined.

He briefly glanced over his shoulder to watch Robin discuss something intently with a knight. Once again, the feeling washed over him just how much this one girl could change the fate of his army. Another saying of his sister's came to mind: A single grain of rice may tip the scale. And though she'd yet to lead the whole of the Shepherds into battle, he could sense it in her furious note-taking, her clear intelligence and her obvious passion that she would be an exceptional grain of rice.

"Yes," Chrom answered his sister, quick to turn back around before getting caught staring. "We did get pretty lucky."

As Robin made her way through the rows of soldiers around them, her voice floated back into Chrom's ears.

"You see, if you hold the tome like this," she explained to he assumed Miriel, the only other tome user in their army. "It'll wear on the bindings in the spine significantly less. And be careful not to whip it open too forcefully, hm? You want it to _fall_ open, not tear, so you can read the script with more concentration and avoid damaging the tome."

"Thank you for the observations, Robin." Yes, that low, factual voice was definitely Miriel's. "I'll be sure to take them into consideration during our next battle. I only hope I can implement your advice without jeopardizing my adequacy when wielding the tome itself. I'm afraid I've grown quite accustomed to fighting with a rather specific form and manner."

"I don't want you jeopardizing your life in any case! If you feel you can manage the improvements today, try it. If not, play it smart and work on them when we have time to train. Okay?"

"Understood, milady."

"Please, just Robin is fine."

Chrom couldn't help but smile when he heard her lead her conversation with the mage, her voice surprisingly kind considering the commanding nature of her words. For someone who had not a full day ago claimed she had no presence, she certainly seemed to be making a respectable image for herself.

"Chrom!"

Turning around with a jolt, he noticed Robin was now heading straight for him. Rather nervously, he was snapped out of his thoughts as all her possible questions rushed to him at once. Hurriedly, though making sure to maintain his composure, he began preparing answers for the questions he was expecting to be drilled on from her: Falchion wouldn't break, but his rapier had seen better days. He knew how to wield a lance from his brief stint in cavalier training as a young boy, and would take it up again if she thought it wise. He was confident in his sword-wielding...

"I just wanted to run a few strategic formations by you," Robin told him, opening her book of notes sideways to a few loose leaf sheets. Without intending to, Chrom let out a sigh of relief, earning him a curiously amused look from Robin. "Did I have you that worried?"

Chrom chuckled "No, not at all," he answered. Trying to explain himself as honestly as possible, he continued, "You can just be a bit intimidating with that book of yours!"

Robin laughed and apologized before hesitantly jumping back to her original purpose. "So, I've drawn up a few possible enemy formations here that we'd be likely to see, and I wanted to run them by you so you'll be able to help me lead them out. Here, we have the classic surrounding, where they try to enclose us in a circle. My proposed solution would be to form two groups spearheaded by our strongest and..."

As Robin pointed here and there over her messy black and white pages, Chrom found himself more and more in wonder at the inner workings of his new tactician's mind. There were numerous formations from both the offensive and defensive sides that he'd never have even thought of! Had he truly been missing out on this much in all his battles? He found himself almost worried about leading such strategies, worried he himself might not follow them well enough. Robin was explaining everything in brief, likely just as a preemptive measure in case they saw battle that day. He'd have to spend some more time with her going over them once they settled into camp.

Somehow, that last thought sat well in his mind.

"Alright, that's all I have for now," Robin finished up a few minutes later, closing her book shut and clutching it close to her chest once more. "Of course, I'll need some more time to develop them. And you and I will have to set some time aside to go over them in more detail once we set up camp, but just in case we see action before then..."

"Then we'll be ready to face them head on," Chrom finished kindly, pride and humor in his voice. "Thank you for your dedication, Robin. You're a gift sent from the gods."

The tactician smiled back, bowing her head slightly in respect and gratitude. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to help."

And with that, she was off again, gone to ask Frederick about his capabilities with the axe. Chrom was left behind with a feeling of anticipation in him, though at what, he couldn't exactly pinpoint. He was excited to try out the new strategies – they could boost the Shepherds' performance by leaps and bounds! - and to develop them further. He was excited and preparing himself to ask Robin to teach him the art of strategy, at least some basics so as to improve his own knowledge.

He was filled with a sense of hope as he thought about the days to come, having a strong feeling things were about to begin improving for the better. A seed of worry remained in his stomach in regards to the uncertainty of what was to come in Ferox; however, in his renewed and boosted sense of confidence, he was sure they would be able to handle whatever lay ahead.

However, with as much as these reasons made sense to the prince, with as much as they took over priority in his mind, there was one smaller reason for his excited heart rate and the feeling of anticipation that went near unnoticed by him: He was excited he had time with Robin laying ahead of him. He was so curious about her, and he had so many questions! Perhaps, now that they were getting to know one another better, he could get them answered...

"Whatcha smiling about?" came a sweet and teasing voice, snapping Chrom out of his thoughts. The prince very suddenly realized he'd had a smile plastered on his face as he looked down into his sister's amused eyes. He would have been able to explain everything perfectly had it not been for that impish look on her face, as though she knew something he hadn't said out loud. "Hmmmmmm?"

What was she trying to imply? "I'm just happy, Lissa."

"Okay." Somehow that tone sounded sarcastic. And the overly dramatic glance at Robin was uncalled for. That and the small wink that accompanied it...

* * *

 **Well, put a chip on "vague Kellem reference" on your Fire Emblem Fanfic bingo cards.**

 **Also, Robin the multi-talented, all class access tactician shows off her healing potential ;)**


	6. We should turn in for the night

**This chapter wound up quite a bit longer than I intended. Oh well, I was riding the writing wave and couldn't stop. Feel free to skim :)**

* * *

 **We should turn in for the night**

There was no saying that the setting of the sun meant the end of the day in the Shepherds' camp. No, activity continued far into the hours of the night, much later for some than others...

Robin was snapped out of the page of her book by popping noises from her candle. She'd gratefully taken Miriel's latest invention when offered: A candle with wax burning at a constant rate of 4 cm per hour, sprinkled with a pinch of gunpowder every four centimeters. Every hour, on the hour, Robin's clever candle had let out a pop from the flames contact with the gunpowder, but by now she'd forgotten how many times she'd heard it that evening.

Bringing her feet down from the wooden stool on which they'd been propped, Robin sat up in her chair and took a moment to look around. Everyone else had left the large communal tent... It seemed like only seconds ago Lissa and Stahl had been serving food in the front, Miriel had been studying Kellam, and Sully and Chrom had been tending a fire pit outside. Where had they all gone?

With a groan and a glance at the candle's now significantly diminished length, Robin realized that must've been the sixth or seventh pop of her candle, making it well past midnight. Damn Sumia for giving her such an interesting book to read...

Just as she was about to stand, a rustling came from the front of the tent. The candles on the tables all still had some fire left in them, but Robin still couldn't see well through the shadows. Her heart rate elevated as she realized she had no weapons on her hand. Frantically (and with an attempt to keep quiet), she began rustling through her loose papers on the table in front of her searching for a tome, but alas, she found nothing.

The flap of the tent rustled open as Robin braced herself, forming a fist with her hands and preparing to fight off this thief or brigand bare handed.

"Robin?"

Rather than a thug clad in animal skins and bones, there stood in the doorway a young princess in a pale yellow nightgown.

"What are you still doing up?"

Robin sank bank into her chair, relaxing her fist and realizing just how tense she'd become. Everything loosened up again once she let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, Lissa, thank goodness. You scared me."

" _You_ scared _me_!" the young girl said, letting out a breath of relief, rubbing her eyes and pushing some of her blonde hair behind her ear. "I woke up and saw you never came back to the tent."

"You shouldn't have come out here unarmed," Robin chastised her tentmate. "I thought Chrom talked to you about putting yourself in danger."

Lissa's mouth frowned guiltily, recalling the conversation her brother had had with her when she'd been discovered trying to scout enemy forces alone. She was a bit put out that Robin had sold her out to him, but she really was sorry...

"Yeah, he did," Lissa admitted, making her way towards the back of the tent to Robin's table. "But I knew it was you in here anyway! Who else would be crazy enough to stay up this late reading?"

Robin gave a lighthearted scoff, closing her book and placing it on the table, though perhaps best to keep it out of Lissa's sight... At such an hour she had no desire to be mercilessly mocked for getting so absorbed by Wyvern Wars: Terror at High Noon. The name alone was embarrassing enough...

As Lissa approached the chair next to Robin and was just about to sit down next to her, Robin hollered out and stopped her. "Wait!" She held her arm forward as if trying to magically stop the girl from taking her seat.

The princess stopped, wide-eyed and frozen.

"Show me your hands."

Lissa, with an impish smile she didn't intend to show, held up her hands to show they were empty, free of any frogs, toads or other general mayhem-causing prank props. Robin had had enough of those in the past couple of weeks, and she wouldn't let herself be fooled again.

Seeing the suspiciously empty palms of the young prankster, Robin arched an eyebrow. "Pocket?"

Nothing in her nightgown's pocket.

"Back."

She turned around. Nothing behind her back either.

"Okay, have a seat."

Lissa happily took her spot next to Robin, curling up her legs into her chair. When asked if she was even tired, she simply replied with, "Not ever!"

"I'm actually glad you're awake," Lissa began, resting her elbow on the back of the wooden chair, her fist supporting her cheek and squishing it upwards. Robin realized just how un-regal she looked in such a casual position. "We almost never get the chance to talk! There's always so many people around."

"What did you want to talk about?" asked Robin, her interest piqued though slightly worried where Lissa would take this conversation... Heavens knew she was a girl's girl through and through.

"Hmm..." Lissa's lips pursed as her eyes thinned comically as she tried to look contemplative. Once she was done 'thinking it over', a smile spread across her face as she focused her eyes on Robin. "Most girls talk about _boys_ when they're up late like this!"

Somehow, the tactician wasn't surprised, though that didn't mean she didn't feel her stomach tighten a bit. Most likely in fear of the suggestion. "Most girls don't have better things to talk about?"

"Aw, come on! I'm curious! Isn't there anyone in the army you've got your eye on?"

"Anything else you wanted to talk about with me?" Robin brushed past the topic, making sure to keep her tone gentle with the princess, though making it clear even within her humor that she was not going to do boy talk. Robin had to _command_ those men! She couldn't start drooling over them like the women in Wyvern Wars did over the hero. Even if many of the heroes in Robin's life were rather dashing...

Lissa smiled and thankfully dropped the topic before allowing her face to go a bit more somber. "Actually, there is something else I'm supposed to ask you."

"Oh?"

With a bit of hesitation, Lissa asked with pursed, contemplative lips, "How could I be a better princess?"

The question took the tactician by surprise, a very sudden switch to a topic unusually... mature of Lissa. Lissa almost never asked such things. She never even seemed to think too much about her position as princess unless she was trying to do something devious and didn't want to get in trouble.

Giving the only reply she could think of, Robin said with a slight smirk, "Well, you could stop putting toads down people's coats, for one." In reality, she couldn't think of anything else to say. Why was Lissa asking her, of all people?

"Yeah, yeah, I heard that stuff already." Lissa waved the notion off with a flick of her wrist. Though quickly thereafter, her face turned more serious. "I mean really... When I compare myself to Chrom or Emm, I feel like I'm not living up to my station."

Robin stared at Lissa for the shortest moment. Was she serious?

"I mean, Chrom is the captain and everyone looks up to him. Emmeryn is... Emmeryn! She's perfect! And I'm just... me."

The poor girl looked so miserable. _Really_ sad for the first time Robin could remember. She was so used to seeing her looking so cheerful, even if it wasn't always with the purest intentions...

She placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder. "Lissa, do you _really_ want to know how you could be a better princess?"

The young girl nodded, her eyes wide and shockingly similar to her older sister's.

"Stop comparing yourself to your siblings." Robin looked the young princess hard in the eyes to make her point clear. "While it's true they're both amazing people, you have something they don't: You make people smile! And especially in wartime, a smile is worth as much as any fancy weapon we could buy."

"Really?" Almost invisibly, Lissa seemed to perk up. Her body barely reacted, but her eyes and face lit up once more.

"Really. _You_ , young lady," Robin began, staring Lissa down with a teasing smile. "With your off-color practical jokes and your mean name calling and your _very pouty face when you get very cross._ " Robin leaned in a bit, pursing her lips and lowering her eyebrows to mimic Lissa's look when she pouted, normally to her brother. "You remind us of the innocence and happiness in the world, and that helps us keep going when things get hard. Just as Emmeryn embodies peace and Chrom embodies confidence, you embody good spirits. Don't ever forget that or think that isn't important."

A smile broke onto Lissa's face and Robin couldn't help but follow suit. When that girl's smile wasn't at your expense, it was almost impossible not to mirror her. "Gee, thanks, Robin! No one explained it to me like that..."

"How many people did you ask?" Robin could almost picture the young girl now, going from person to person in camp and posing the same question. She almost laughed at the notion!

"The whole camp!" Oh... So she really had gone from person to person.

"Wow," Robin said slowly. "You must've really been quite worried about this. First the scouting incident and now a camp-wide survey."

"Not really," replied Lissa with a shrug. "Well, I was worried, but I just asked everyone because Chrom made me. He got mad at me for asking him if I was a good princess and ordered me to ask everyone how I could improve. Otherwise, I would never have gone up to some of those guys if it hadn't been an order. Have you seen the way they talk with their mouths full while they eat?! Blech!"

Robin giggled, noting sarcastically, "It's a relief to see this has been a growing experience for you."

"It was!" Lissa protested, her pouty face Robin had mocked showing itself. "They were actually really nice people."

"Of course they were nice to you. You're Princess Lissa."

Lissa let out a small laugh, closing her eyes as a full smile spread across her cheeks. Robin was struck for a moment by how similar the girl looked to her older sister with her hair down and her eyes closed in a smile.

"Thanks, Robin."

"Did I lift your spirits?" asked Robin, to which she got a nod in reply. "Then you'll leave the scouting to our scouts from now on? And no more surveys? You'll stick to your own job? Which is...?"

"Making people in camp smile!" Lissa finished happily. "And being the 'embodiment of good spirits.'"

"Precisely." Robin let herself relax back into her chair. "I have enough strategizing to do without worrying about you going rogue."

"I was helpful as a scout though, right?" Lissa tried to defend her actions, even if only a little bit. "We knew the enemy formation like _that_!" She snapped her fingers with a proud smile on her face.

"We did," Robin admitted as she began to gather her things together from the table. The brigands they had fought hadn't stood a chance against the Shepherds that day, and the town they'd set out to destroy had been safe. In addition, they also were gifted a Physic staff by the villagers. "But it wasn't worth the risk of losing you."

Lissa's smile damped slightly as her eyes looked at the ground. "I know," she admitted quietly.

Robin, her books and papers in hand, stood up and decided that was enough for the night. Lissa had learned her lesson and heard what she came to hear. "Come," she said, extending a hand to the princess, who still remained curled up in her chair. "It's gotten late. We should turn in for the night."

"Haha! Robin, it got late hours ago!" Lissa said, accepting the hand offered to her and allowing herself to be pulled up. "What book had you so interested anyway? Probably some battle history of a fight between two boring old guys, right?"

Lissa's laugh thereafter proved she had meant it as something of a jest, a jab at her normal reading habits, but Robin only felt relief that Lissa already had her ideas formed. Trying to lie or, gods forbid, explain to her the premise of her romantic war novel wouldn't have been easy.

"Something like that..." The tactician replied, heading for the door with Lissa clinging to her arm. The young girl had taken up the taper holder and guided them both through the dark tent.

"Hey, I had another question," said Lissa as she slid sideways through the tent opening, careful not to let the flame brush the cloth material. "What kind of perfume do you like?"

Robin furrowed her eyebrows, wondering why it was the Lissa was asking. Though she doubted the girl could see the curiosity on her face under the night sky. "That's awfully random... I'm not sure, honestly. I've never actually worn perfume."

Lissa jerked her head back, pulling her linked arm against Robin's and causing the latter to stumble a bit. "What?"

"I've never seen a use for it I suppose."

Robin and Lissa made their way to their tent in the center of camp, still arm in arm with the younger trying to explain all the benefits of a nice scent, even going so far as to suggest it would distract enemies on the battlefield. From across the way of their own sleeping quarters was the captain's tent. Chrom was drawn out of his work by the flicker of a candle outside and the sound of their voices outside.

Leaving his maps on the table and wiping his eyes (When had it gotten so late?), he stood and went to the flap of his tent to peek through. Outside, Lissa was speaking animatedly – and far too loudly for the hour – about... Robin's scent? _Perfume?_ No, that couldn't be. He had told Lissa to buy perfume for someone special, but he had meant to give it to _her_ as a late birthday present! Surely she didn't think he would be gifting something that intimate to his tactician... That would be crossing a line even by Lissa's standards.

Just as the two were about to enter their tent and Chrom about to return to the depths of his, having determined it was just business as usual with a few Shepherds being up so late, Lissa caught Robin's arm away from the flap of their tent. Quickly, she took the tactician into a hug, its fierceness evidenced by Robin's consequential grunt at being pulled into the young girl's grip.

"Thanks- ..gain, Robin. You're such a g-... -end," was all Chrom could make out from what Lissa said. She was speaking quietly and her voice was projecting behind Robin's shoulder. Though he realized whatever she'd said must've been something sweet when Robin smiled and put her arm around his sister's back. She gently ruffled the girl's blonde hair, the look on her face endearing and gentle. He felt his heart beat a little faster.

So many of the Shepherds treated Lissa like a little sister. Though somehow when he compared how Stahl or Sumia treated her – and how Lissa treated them in return – none of them seemed as genuine as what he was seeing in that moment. Already, he could see Lissa beginning to treat Robin almost like she did Emmeryn, returning the sisterly treatment for the first time he could remember. He was glad to see her finding another person to look up to.

And as the two girls separated and entered their tent, Chrom realized he was glad it was Robin. She was sure of herself, a fierce warrior, a very loyal and witty friend, and exceedingly clever to boot. For all the wonderful qualities Emm had, her peacefulness and strong sense of duty among them, those were things Lissa couldn't learn from her. He hoped Robin would be a good friend and role model to his sister.

Though beyond that, there was a not-so-painful ache in him that screamed how desperately he wanted them to get along. For weeks, he'd been feeling such things, starting with simply wanting to befriend Robin when they first met, and then once they were friends, growing into a curiosity and a desire to be closer still. Though he thought he was beginning to understand these feelings, he continued to ignore them. He knew their implications, and as a commander of an army, the prince knew the self control he would need to exercise. It was simply... infatuation, he told himself. It would pass.

Chrom returned thereafter to his table full of maps, lists and pieces from Robin's strategy kit she'd loaned him (on the condition he 'treat it with the care you would show a newborn babe') and attempted to concentrate. Though right up until the second he managed to fall asleep with his head on the table, he just couldn't seem to focus quite as hard as before. For every wooden playing piece he moved across a map, there was a teasing voice in his head who knew a better move, and every time he thought up a new plan, an instinct arose in him to consult with the one person he was growing to rely on most.

As his eyes fluttered shut, the exhausted prince found himself wondering with a tired and vague sense of misery how Robin had managed to gain such a hold on the Shepherds after so little time. He really didn't know what he did with himself before she came along.

* * *

 **In case no one's noticed yet, romance is not my forte. Hoping to improve on that.**

 **Anyone catch the vague Avatar reference there at the beginning? "It's 4 o'candle"**


	7. Won goph in my mouph! Blech! Ptooey!

**Accidentally discovered a hidden link between support convos today. 'Peeping Tom' seems to be the hottest trend among the Shepherds.**

* * *

 **Won goph in my mouph!**

"I didn't do anythiiiiiiing!" Robin's scream could be heard from across the camp, drawing Chrom's attention away from his work. His head snapped up and away from the maps carefully sorted in front of him as he set down the red pen he'd been marking the trail with, though he hadn't made any progress in quite some time. He assumed it was just as well; he'd have to ask Robin how to move forward anyhow.

Pushing his way out of the tent, central in the camp, his eyes were met by two figures tearing around the corner of the makeshift path between tents. Vaike and Robin were practically tripping over themselves in their sprinting.

The sound of an angry horse and the hard clopping of hooves was far louder than their yells of fear.

"What is going on out here?!" Chrom barked angrily at the duo as they ran straight past him, though he got his answer from neither of them. Rather, his answer came in the form of a dark brown mare on a rampage following close behind them. Startled and realizing that horse belonged to one of their own, Sully, Chrom jumped back before trying to run after it.

Robin took a spill in front of him, sliding across the ground on her belly. "Ugh!" she called out, halfway in frustration and halfway in fear of being trampled. "Oh no! My robe- Ants! Ants! Agh! Won goph in ma mouph! Blech! Ptooey!"

Thankfully, Sully's horse didn't run straight over the girl as she struggled to get back off the ground. Chrom pulled her up by the elbow and continued running after the rogue mare, its sole target now Vaike.

Once finally catching up with the horse, he made several attempts to calm it down and was almost crushed each time. It took yelling for Sumia and a great deal of trouble on her end to settle the mare back down as Vaike and Robin stood gasping for breath behind her, Chrom switching between a confused glance at the two of them and worried looks of concern at Sumia for her safety. He'd never seen Sully's horse behave so aggressively!

Once the perpetrating horse had been lead back to the stables, Chrom thanked Sumia for her help and turned his attention to his two out-of-breath Shepherds. Robin had grass and mud stains from her fall all over the front of her clothing, and Vaike's metal armor around his neck was twisted sideways.

"What in the Naga's name did you two _do_ to Sully's horse to make it that angry?" he asked sternly.

" _I_ didn't do anything!" Robin protested, her voice quieter than usual as she calmed herself down and caught her breath. Her eyes widened and a scowl began to form on her face. None of the Shepherds had seen that face before; it was quite scary. "Your _friend_ here is a peeping tom!"

"I wasn't peepin'!" Vaike yelled back.

"Oh, no, that's right. Pardon me," Robin shot back, clearly being sarcastic. "You were just 'looking at the flowers.'"

Chrom's eyes followed the argument, but the rest of him remained still. He almost found it funny that Robin thought her claim was _news_ to him. Sometimes it was easy to forget how little time she'd really been with them. Too little to live through Vaike's other escapades.

"All right, fine! It's just sometimes a man's just gotta see what can be seen!"

"If you say that one more time..."

"Chrom, you're a guy like the Vaike. You know what I mean, dontcha?" The captain found himself suddenly under two sets of eyes, one hopeful for support and the other threateningly awaiting an answer. The latter made it very clear what the next words out of his mouth should _not_ have been. Not that he ever would've agreed with Vaike on that in the first place.

"I think you're alone on this one, Vaike," he replied, prompting a look of victory from a still-angry Robin. Before the man had a moment to respond, Chrom continued in the hopes of diffusing the argument before the conversation had a chance to turn more towards him... "Would you please go wait in my tent?"

"Aw, bu-"

"Go."

The fighter stalked off, defeated but looking none too concerned. Chrom figured it was likely due to the fact that this was already the third discussion they'd be having about this particular subject. The captain wasn't looking forward to putting himself through it yet again.

Now alone with Robin, Chrom suggested she hand her dirtied clothing to Frederick to clean. "Also," he added, a hand held bashfully behind his neck as an apologetic look appeared on his face. "It probably wouldn't be a bad idea for the women to keep an eye on that spring while we're camping out here. Or perhaps just use our bathing tents."

Thirty minutes and one thoroughly aggravating, mildly embarrassing and ultimately bound to be fruitless reprimanding of Vaike later, Chrom found himself finally able to get back to work. Sometimes he found himself wondering if his Shepherds knew the dire situation they were in. One wouldn't think it based on the way they acted around camp.

 _No_ , Chrom corrected himself immediately after letting those bitter thoughts cross his mind. _They knew more than anyone._ They were the ones that fought, and he knew they took the blunt of the most negative of war's experiences. Perhaps, he realized, it was a good thing they didn't behave so seriously around camp. For without them, he would turn into a hermit, thinking of nothing but alliances and the caravan size and which path to take to get to Ylisstol from Themis.

Getting Maribelle back hadn't been an easy task – the daft girl had tried to parley with the enemy commander alone – but alas, they had made it through the battle. They had triggered war, but everyone – including Emmeryn – was safe.

Now just for how to get back... The same question that had presented itself before the incident with Robin and Vaike. The path they'd taken on the way _to_ Themis was known to the enemy scouts and therefore out of the question. To the north were hills, which would make the way longer than the shorter southern path through the plains. However, it presented a tactical advantage of higher ground and tree cover - "the basics" as Robin had taught him.

Needing a final decision to be made before he could plan further, he decided to go find Robin, having hired her for moments precisely like these. She always had the final say when it came to army tactics. After all, she always knew best. Chrom was growing to simultaneously admire and hate that about her.

He exited his tent and made his way through the canvas-lined 'paths' through the camp, finding each and every corner to look somehow just the same as the last. In the past month, the Shepherds had found themselves with more money on their hands to buy themselves more tents, meaning each Shepherd had his or her own tent, and the foot soldiers were now in pairs rather than fours. This meant the camp had twice the size it had once had. It didn't help, either, that due to the varying terrain on which the Shepherds always found themselves camping, the camp had to be set up radically differently each time. Just when he got a feel for his surroundings, they were packed up and moving again...

He managed to locate and check the healers' tent first, thinking Robin had perhaps found herself there after taking that fall. She hadn't. Then the storage tent where she often found herself organizing weapons. Empty. He even saw Frederick holding Robin's cloak and shirt and bringing them to the wash, though the knight knew not where she was either. Finally, he decided to check her tent on the far eastern part of the camp. Though only when he'd reached the eastern end did he realize he didn't know exactly which tent was hers...

Second on the right perhaps? No, that was Stahl's. Or Sumia's, perhaps. The last on the right? Or was it on the left?

From the left side, he could see mist a light shade of white pouring through the edges. He thought for sure that must be Robin's tent, being used to seeing strange colors from spell experiments gone out of hand coming from her area.

Approaching the off-white tent and tapping his hand on the flap, Chrom called within. He could already feel the slightest hint of anticipation growing in his stomach, involuntarily growing excited to see her alone again. "Robin?" No answer. "Hello? Robin! Are you in here? Hello?! I have a question about our next move!"

From within, Chrom could hear someone shout back at him. It was definitely Robin's voice, but why couldn't he make out a damn thing she was saying?

"What? Come on in?" he asked for clarification, carefully slipping his hand through the door and entering slowly, giving her the chance tell him to leave again before he entered completely. He heard nothing in response, and took that to mean he was all clear to enter. Though when he ducked in, it was as if his face had been hit by a wall of humidity, steam fogging up his vision. "Gods, why is it so steamy in here? Did someone leave the -"

His wondering aloud was interrupted by a scream from somewhere within the endless mass of steam. Vaguely, he could make out two large pigtails and the shape of Robin's head. Why had she screamed?

"Ah, there you are!" said Chrom, batting at the air in front of him in an attempt to clear up his vision. "I can hardly see a thing through all this blasted steam... Anyway, I wanted to consult with you on tomorrow's march. You see..."

Now his vision was clearing. It was clearing, and a strange feeling in his stomach began to tell him he may have entered the wrong tent after all.

"Er... Is there any special reason why you're not wearing any clothing?"

"Chrom?" Robin's voice was seething and her words began being spoken through clenched teeth. With such a scary expression, the prince found it hard to focus on her face. Though to focus elsewhere... Not an option. "Rather than stand there like a slack-jawed village idiot... _Perhaps you could wait outside like I asked!?"_

"But, I... You..." So _that_ was what Chrom hadn't heard before when he'd knocked. "Oh gods, I'm SO sorry! I didn't mean to-" … see you naked. "That is to say-"

"OOOOOOOOOOUT!" She almost definitely would've been pointing an angry finger at the door if her hands weren't both busy covering things.

"R- Right! Absolutely!" Chrom couldn't seem to form complete thoughts anymore. "Straightaway! I- I'll, er, wait... right out-...side the tent."

He couldn't remember the last time he'd left any place with such haste. And once he was finally outside, he didn't quite know how to continue. Should he wait outside or go wait somewhere else? Should he sit? Or would standing be better? Whatever seemed less awkward and preferably made it clearer that he really hadn't meant to walk in on her... Naked... Free of clothing...

 _Sometimes a man's just gotta see what can be seen!_

Taking the first natural reaction that came to him upon letting that thought enter his mind, he buried his face in his hands, pressing his thumbs to his temples. _Oh gods,_ he thought miserably. _I'm Vaike._

* * *

 **So I hope this is working out okay. I'm not putting too many of the major events in because let's be honest, we all know the main plot of the game. I'm mostly just trying to take things I feel would likely happen as well as stuff based on support convos and quotes (last chapter, Lissa's barracks conversation quote don't know if anyone caught that) and make little snippets. Just 'a few notes' to the game, if you will.**


	8. You may call me Marth

**You may call me Marth...**

She had seen them together in the Ferox arena. She had crossed swords with her father, been blindsided and hit by a lightning strike from her mother. But that time had been different. There, they were her opponents on a battlefield, allies and a force to be reckoned with. But that was nothing personal.

Here, now, two weeks later, was a different story.

Lucina stood behind the trunk of a large tree in the courtyard, clinging to the bark as she watched her parents from afar. She had almost wanted to confront her father as she saw him looking so forlorn, standing in the middle of the stone path alone a few moments ago. However, she knew it wasn't her place. And now that she saw her mother standing next to him where she would've been, a hand on his arm, she was glad it hadn't been her place. Seeing this was far better.

She knew they weren't married yet, and she assumed they didn't have any idea they ever would be. But Lucina knew. What she saw between them now was merely a glimpse of the trust and love that she came to know as she grew up, and she hoped that with everything in the future she was aiming to change, that one bit might remain the same.

"...Ylisse's spirit... -gave' her..." Lucina could barely make out what her father was saying from so far away. Though there was nowhere to hide if she moved in closer, and she didn't want to risk revealing herself. Especially, she realized, when there was an assassin lurking in the bushes not 300 meters away. She had to refocus herself.

Rather than concentrating on her father's words, she decided to listen to the hooting of an owl that was filling the air. She couldn't see its source, but filling her ears with background noise helped her better focus her eyes on her father. When that assassin jumped out, she would be ready. She braced her sword in her hand and prepared her stance to break into a run at the first sight of him.

" _I'm gonna get you!"_

With a jolt and a pinch in her stomach, an echo of a ghost of her past flitted through her mind. Though only lasting a moment, it was enough for her to look across the courtyard, right near the stone arches and almost see her brother running before her eyes. She could remember the feeling of her toy sword in her hand, the lack of breath in her lungs from running and laughing too hard, the smile on her little brother's face...

No. She couldn't let herself slip into that state of mind now. She needed to focus. She steeled her grip on Falchion, the familiar feeling of the ribbed handle settling her down as she rested her left hand on the bark of the tree once more.

" _Look what you did! You scarred the tree with your sword!"_ Quickly, Lucina removed her hand from the trunk, once again trying desperately to shut her mind against the distractions. Or rather, against the pain of remembering.

Being home, being in this courtyard... it was too much for Lucina, and she realized she wouldn't be able to stop these involuntary recollections no matter how hard she steeled herself. A pang of... regret? Nostalgia? Grief? hit her in the stomach just before her feet went cold.

There was a rustle from the bushes.

No, she couldn't just stand there. For the sake of her sanity and her father's safety, she'd have to move closer to him. So she left the tree and carefully, quietly made her way forward, trying to hear what was being said between her parents.

"The day he understands peace will be the day death gives it to him," said her father. Lucina realized he was talking about the Mad King, the biggest threat facing the Shepherds in the recent week. "So perhaps I must be death's agent. Emmeryn would never order him killed, nor would I wish her to."

Lucina was close enough now to see a sympathetic look appear on her mother's face. She could just barely make it out under her hood.

Gathering up her courage, Lucina braced herself and took up a normal stride. With a deep breath, she spoke her first words of the night. "Well spoken, sir."

Both her mother and father turned to face her head on, their eyes on her weighing her down. It was harder to see them than she'd expected. In that hellscape those few weeks ago, when she'd first arrived in this time, she'd been under the gaze of not only her parents, but Aunt Lissa, Frederick, Sully, and Duke Virion as well. It was overwhelming enough not to drown in memories. Now, it was just Chrom and Robin. Just her family.

She felt her eyes begin to string as she clenched her jaw against its quivering. It took everything in her not to run into their arms and tell them everything. Just to be a family again, after all this time...

"Marth?"

And that one word was enough. Enough to send her wishing to a screeching halt, to remind her where she was and why. She was here to save the world, and she was here under an alias.

" _You may call me Marth."_ Speaking those words for the first time had burned her tongue. It was true she was honored and empowered by taking on the name of the Hero King, but it wasn't her name. She hadn't worn it with pride as she grew up, as she spent that year as Exalt. Her mother hadn't chosen that name for her, her father hadn't called her to training with it, her brother hadn't whined it when he'd wanted to spend more time with her. It wasn't her name.

But now it had to be. If she was to carry out this mission, to rid the Lucina of this world of the hellish future she herself had endured, if she was to save her parents and ensure that she and her brother and all their friends of this world would grow up happy, then Marth would have to carry it out. Marth was who she'd need to become.

But just once, she thought, it would be nice to see her father greet her with a smile, calling out her name as he was happy to see her after all this time apart. To see her mother's white blonde hair fall in front of her face as she was hugged and heard "my Lucina" over her shoulder... They both were right there in front of her. She was so close...

"Good evening to you."

And yet further from them than she'd ever been.

* * *

 **"Lucina: Masks are good for that. The moment I saw you and father, it was all I could do not to leap into your arms. That, or break down in tears at having seen you alive again after so many years." Best line DLC has ever gven us imo**


	9. Let's see what I'm capable of now

**And so the sudden wave of pegasus knights (that, let's all admit we have at some point) finds its start.**

* * *

 **Let's see what I'm capable of now**

"Robin, come out!"

"Yeah! Let us see your new look!"

Robin stood in her dressing room, fastening the last bits of her armor on her shoulders as some of the other female Shepherds waited on her. This uniform was certainly tighter than her old cloak and tunic, and much more revealing as well. She wasn't particularly pleased about that.

However, her change in position was something she had been looking forward to. She was glad Chrom had agreed to let her take up pegasus riding in the first place, and she would admit that a change of pace would be nice. Especially when that change would be helping others and filling a gap much in need of filling...

The Pegasus Knights had fallen.

All but the precious few elites, who had been under Phila's direct command at the Royal Palace, had been slaughtered at the border by Gangrel and his Wyvern Riders. Cordelia was in a state of grief at the loss of her sisters, and had for the past two days along the march to Regna Ferox visibly been feeling out of place. She did her duties as asked, but it was clear to anyone that she didn't feel right being there. Marching along the ground was a far cry from a fly through the sky along side fellow Pegasus sisters.

This, Robin had taken note of as they made camp a few nights ago just before the Feroxi border. And she'd decided to take action.

"Chrom, may I come in? I wanted to talk to you about something," she'd begun as she slipped into Chrom's tent. It had gotten quite cold and dark outside, and she seemed to be less physically equipped to handle the cold than the others. The warmth and glow of the firelight from within the captain's tent was a welcome change.

"Ah, Robin!" Chrom looked up briefly from his spot on the ground with a tired smile, seated at his large table for mapping routes. Underneath his eyes, dark circles were starting to grow. Robin had wished there was something she could do to relieve him of a bit of his stress, though she knew the greatest deal of it was coming from the absence and endangerment of his older sister. Regrettably, the only thing Robin could do to help was send extra forces back to help guard Ylisstol. "Come on in."

Robin had entered the tent fully, pulling the edges of her cloak around herself and shivering as she made her way to the table.

"There's an extra blanket on my bedroll if you want," Chrom had told her before she sat down. He gestured quickly with his quill to the other side of the room where his blankets and pillows lay. One fur pelt lay on top, evidently hers for the taking. "I know how you hate the Feroxi weather."

Chrom shot Robin a small smile, which she'd returned before snatching the dark brown fur and wrapping it tightly around her shoulders. The shelter it had provided against the freezing temperatures felt like a massive hug.

"Mmm, that's better." She'd sighed contentedly and wiggled as she pulled the blanket even tighter around herself. When she noticed a bit of pink creep onto the prince's cheeks, she suddenly wished she'd made fewer noises, and she felt very thankful for the extra layer around her body – a rather vague sentiment with which she'd become familiar ever since she the incident in the bathing tent, and his subsequent reddening in the face in her presence thereafter.

"So," Chrom began, finally setting down his scribbling quill and devoting his attention to her. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

In spite of the fact she'd thought through her plan quite thoroughly, Robin was a bit nervous to pitch the idea she'd been cooking up. Somehow she knew Chrom wouldn't be too pleased with it."Well," she began nervously, finding it difficult to meet his eyes. Her eyes flitted to and fro. "It's actually ab-..."

Involuntarily, her eyes had glanced downward and found themselves focused on a strategy setup on the table. "Is _that_ the formation you've been developing? You're leaving the rearguard completely-"

Temporarily distracted, and evidently unable to help her reflexively tactics-oriented mind, she looked up to meet Chrom in the face to emphasize her point. However, upon seeing a tired and unamused look on his face, she held her tongue.

"Ahem. Not the point. Um... It's about Cordelia."

"Cordelia?" asked Chrom, his face confused. "What about her?"

With a sigh, Robin began her pitch. Backstory first: "She'd not doing well, Chrom. I mean, who's to blame her after what she's been through? It's just I don't know what to do with her! I've tried pairing her up with Sumia, to give her something, some _one_ familiar, but..."

With as talented as Cordelia was and as timid as Sumia tended to be, it was becoming far too easy for the former to exercise her tendency to take over control, leaving the latter in a backup position. Sure this was safe, but Robin worried for Sumia's development as a soldier.

"Sumia needs to be in a leading position right now," Robin clarified. "She needs to be getting the experience, and it's been all too easy for Cordelia to take the lead in their pair ups."

"So, why not pair her up with someone else?" Chrom asked, not as a suggestion but as a legitimate question.

"I would," Robin answered. "But Sumia's the only other flier who can fly with Cordelia. Ricken and Lissa are really the only two small enough to be – feasibly – carried on the back of a Pegasus saddle to make two new pairups. You requested Lissa stay with either Frederick or myself, and Ricken has really taken to Miriel. It's rather adorable, really, him running around as her little science assistant! Plus, they work so well together with magic, I'd be a fool to break that up."

"What do you propose then?"

With a deep breath, Robin prepared herself to pitch to meat of her idea. "I was thinking I could begin training as a Pegasus knight and be her partner."

Before Chrom even had the chance to yell 'What', Robin removed her hands from the blanket and held them up in a gesture to calm him down. "Now, hear me out," she began. She'd been prepared for this, and she liked to think she knew him well enough to know what his concerns would be. "I would still be a tactician for the army, I just wouldn't be fighting with swords anymore. Tomes would have to wait a while as well."

"But-"

"I've considered the increased vulnerability to arrows and such, but I've already gotten so much stronger since joining the Shepherds, wouldn't you agree? Frederick says I have some of the most commendable defense in the army right now!"

"Well, yes, bu-"

"And I _really do_ think this is best for Cordelia, Chrom." Robin looked the prince hard in the eyes, silently beseeching him to argue no further, to understand where she was coming from. "You all were so good to me when I first joined you, and I want Cordelia to feel the same sense of camaraderie that I did. That I still do. I want her to feel at home here, and I really think having someone to fly with will make her transition easier and give her some normalcy, even if only a little bit. So please, Chrom?"

Chrom stared the tactician down long and hard, his blue eyes conflicted. Pegasus Knights were some of the easiest targets in an army: poorly equipped to defend themselves, vulnerable to arrows and wind, and visible from miles away. He didn't like the idea of Robin being so at risk. No, more: He hated it.

But when he saw the look of sincerity in Robin's eyes, when he thought about her arguments... She really did want to help, and gods damn her she made good points. She never failed to do that. And it was true that she was strong and talented. If anyone could manage such a radical change, it would be her. Of that much, Chrom was certain, but that didn't mean he had to be comfortable with it.

"For how long would this class change be?" he asked begrudgingly, his eyebrows lowered and his mouth in a serious frown.

Robin's eyes sparked slightly, realizing she had him on the ropes. "Not for long. Just until we manage to build the Pegasus Knights back up and get Cordelia back on her feet," she answered. "Well actually, if I'm being honest, I read up in the palace library back in Ylisstol on an elite flying class a while ago. I'd like to try that out as well. They can do some pretty amazing things! And they use tomes as well, so I would be better equipped."

Chrom waited a moment, thinking over her points. The path she was wanting to take would be months, maybe even years. Becoming an elite flier? Even prodigious Cordelia wouldn't be able to accomplish that in 'not long'.

With a disgruntled sigh, Chrom replied, "I'm just not fond of the idea of one of the most important people in our army putting herself in one of the most vulnerable positions on the battlefield!"

"I know you aren't," Robin replied honestly. Though for this, too, she had an answer. "But Chrom, there have been thousands of legendary Pegasus Knights before me who've lived long and happy lives, safe in battle. Clair of Zofia, Marcia of Begnion, Hinoka of Hoshido... Even your ancestor Caeda was a Pegasus Knight! They all were safe. And there will surely be hundreds, _thousands_ , more in the years to come. Who's to say I can't take my place among them for a short period of time, hm?"

Chrom tried to think of a protest, but nothing came to him. He couldn't believe she was using his own ancestry against him! "You've really done your research, haven't you?"

"Did you expect any less from me?" Robin asked with a gentle, teasing smile. Though it quickly faded away as she turned thoughtful and sincere once more. "You know our deal, Chrom: I won't make any radical changes to the Shepherds without your okay, class changes included. You're still the commander here."

Though stubbornness made her hate admitting it, Chrom still had final say in any major decisions. However, she knew by now how to sway him and get past his stubbornness, in a manner of speaking. In this sense, he and his younger sister were much the same: With a gentle enough mixture of sternness, kindness, and good reasoning...

"You have my permission to do whatever you see fit, Robin."

A smile spread across the tactician's face, happiness mixing with pride and excitement. She had managed to get Chrom's approval! Just to think of all the exciting new changes she had coming...

"Thank you, Chrom," she said, beaming as her eyes shone with the glow of new ideas and hope. "You won't regret this; I promise."

Chrom couldn't help but return her smile in full, even if he still had a seed of worry growing in his gut. "I know I won't," he replied. "Gods know you're right most of the time anyhow."

Which brought them to the present day, to Robin in the dressing room.

The preparations for the slight reorganizing of the army were made within only two days. Robin had arranged for Sumia to be backed up by Chrom, Lissa guarded by Frederick, and herself paired up with Cordelia. A pegasus was purchased from a stable just on the Feroxi border as was riding gear, and by the end of those two days' time...

"Wow, Robin! You look so cool!" Lissa stared in wonder as Robin finally emerged confidently from behind the curtain she'd been preparing behind.

The tactician had donned her new blue armor, thigh length boots and thin leather tights and garters. She stretched her limbs this way and that, trying to get a feel for her new clothing, leaving the female Shepherds around her to admire her new look.

"Who knew under that sinfully androgynous coat there lay the form of a lady?" asked Maribelle, leaving Robin unsure if she was being condescending or attempting to tease. She smiled ironically, choosing to believe the latter.

The tactician muttered a few 'thank you's for the compliments before calling outside to Sumia, requesting her pegasus be fetched. Grabbing a bronze lance from a stand on the wall with purpose and self-assurance, she made her way to the flap of the tent, where Frederick awaited her ouside.

"So, Frederick," Robin began, pride in her voice as she clutched her lance in her hands and straightened her back, showing off her new armor. "How do I look? Like a terrifying knight of the skies?"

"Like a trainee who shouldn't be using a weapon yet," the knight replied with dark humor. To Robin's disappointment, he took the bronze weapon out of her hands. She was so excited to begin learning to use a new weapon; she wanted to begin as soon as possible! "You should first focus on learning to ride. It will do you no good to bite off more than you can chew."

From ahead of them, Sumia began approaching from the makeshift stables the Shepherds had made in a field. Behind her, the other members of the army, captain included, were watching the situation play out from afar. Robin, a leader of the Shepherds known by her thunder spells and impressive use with a sword, suddenly becoming a flying lance fighter was quite big news.

Robin shot one last withering, disappointed look at Frederick in an attempt to guilt him into giving her lance back (before remembering the man was immune to such tactics) as Sumia approached them, holding the reigns of a pegasus who was in tow. In a split second decision, she decided to snatch the weapon back out of the knight's hands.

"I can handle it, Frederick," she told him firmly as she pulled it further away from his hands that groped after it, leaving him no time to argue as Sumia arrived.

"Careful now," Sumia warned Robin as she lead the pegasus to her side, petting the snout of the large beast with one hand. "This one's a bit strong-willed."

"It's always best that a mount and its rider have equally matched personalities," Frederick commented with a dry smile as Robin approached her new partner in battle.

She glanced over her shoulder as she planted her foot in the saddle's stirrup. "Thank you, Frederick. That'll be enough out of you." The only sign of acknowledgment she received was a thinning of his eyes accompanied by a slight lifting of the corners of his mouth: the closest thing she could ever earn to a smile from him.

Pulling herself into the saddle with only moderate difficulty, Robin was surprised to feel a complete lack of nervousness. Rather, she felt curiously confident, and with a few adjustments per Frederick and Sumia's suggestions, she felt almost comfortable. It was a different stance from horseback riding; she had to sit further up on the neck to avoid the wings, keep her back at a different angle...

Her pegasus grew antsy at its new rider, stamping its feet here and there and shaking its head. Robin was a bit startled, but managed to jerk the reigns in such a way as to calm him down. She could feel everyone's eyes watching her, particularly Chrom's. She didn't want to be proven wrong, proven that this had been a daft idea, and if she had any say in it she wouldn't be. She'd show that captain just how talented she could be...

"You look pretty good for a first-timer, Robin!" Sumia commented. "Have you ever ridden a pegasus before?"

The question itched something in the back of Robin's mind, a thought she'd not considered and yet felt she should.

"No, I've only ever ridden horses," she answered honestly, as far as she knew. Though she'd long ago surrendered herself to the idea that she may have done many things in her life pre-amnesia that she didn't remember anymore. Being in a big city, studying formally, killing a man... Riding a pegasus could easily be added to the list.

"But this is a different game entirely, hm, Pegasus?" she continued, brushing her own thoughts out of her head as she gave the white fur of her steed's neck an affectionate rub with her free hand. It bucked its head and ruffled the wings of its feathers slightly in response. "Yes, it is! Let's see what I'm capable of now, shall we? Now that I have a trusty friend like you, hm? Is this a boy or a girl, Sumia? A girl? Hmm... Catria. Yes, that's a good name for you, isn't it?"

"Catria?"

"A famous pegasus knight from the ancient Whitewings, founded by of Princess Minerva of Macedon. Didn't you read that History of the Pegasi book I gave you?"

"Oh, o- of course!"

Ignoring Sumia's clear fib with only a knowing smile, Robin set out with her Catria on a small trot around the camp, even – to her joy – meeting up with Cordelia and her pegasus as she passed by the open training grounds and receiving from her her first round of riding and lance fighting lessons.

As she made an effort to work as a team with Catria, who did prove to be quite headstrong as Sumia had said, she made the umpteeth executive decision about her personality, regardless of her past: She didn't mind having an animal by her side. In fact, she quite liked it.


	10. Duty

**A very quick pre-battle thingy before stuff gets more serious and whatnot**

* * *

 **Duty**

The second Frederick had informed them of action ahead, Chrom and Robin had known to spring into action. Whether it was based on common sense or a pure instinct from weeks of practice, no one knew. Whatever it was, though, that had driven them to this skirmish, the Shepherds cursed it.

By the time they had managed to trudge forward to the scene, which at the beginning had looked so close to them – a cruel trick played by the desert sun and the flat land, they found their clothing and armor covered and scratchy with sand. The air was full of it, seeming almost as bountiful as the very oxygen they breathed.

"Robin, are you sure we should be meddling here?" came a voice from behind the tactician. Through the desert wind, she could barely make out the words, let alone the owner. "We need to be heading for Plegia without distractions! This isn't our battle to fight!"

Before Robin had a chance to answer, a scream from ahead drew her attention away. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Her stomach sank as she saw a young girl cowering before robed and armed figures in front of her. A mercenary was chasing her from behind.

"Of course I'm sure," Robin answered the voice behind her. "It's our duty to help those in need, and that girl needs our help. Besides, we've seen too little from Gangrel. This could be a trap, but it's best we fight our way through it while we still have a chance."

Lissa appeared on the ground beside Robin, near Catria's legs. "But Robin," she complained. "We can barely even see! Or move!"

"Frederick said himself the mages and fliers will be able to make it through without problems. Everyone listen up!" Robin pulled the reigns of her mount to the right and turned herself around to face the army. Yelling over the wind, she gave her commands. "Forget your usual partners you've been assigned to fight with. I want everyone paired up with a flier or a mage! Lissa, you'll come with me. Ricken, give one of those wind tomes to Mirel. You two, split up and use that wind magic to help clear the air in front of you and move forward. Cordelia! Can you handle taking Stahl on your saddle? Good. You two will fly up above the sand with me."

Another shriek came from the young girl under attack, carried through the wind to the ears of the Shepherds. The mercenary was yelling behind her.

"Sumia," Robin addressed the pegasus knight. The young woman stiffened at attention, a look on her face saying she was ready to receive orders. Robin was glad to see what a far cry she was becoming from the timid mess she'd been prior to their first mission to Ferox. "Take Chrom ahead and protect that girl. And Chrom, find out who that mercenary is! Can you two do that?"

"Yes," Sumia answered confidently.

"Of course," replied Chrom.

"Wonderful." Robin turned Catria back around and lifted a hand down to Lissa at her side. She almost couldn't see the girl's pale hand reach back as strands of her white hair covered her face, windblown and barely staying secured in their twin pigtails. Blindly, she pulled Lissa up into her saddle as the bustling of the army getting into formation could be heard behind her. Sumia and her pegasus trotted up beside the tactician with Chrom sitting behind her.

"Be safe," Chrom warned sternly. Robin turned her head to face him, met with serious eyes. Though his eyes flitted away almost imperceptibly before he continued. "We'll need you when we reach the capital."

Robin wasn't quite sure what about that statement had rubbed her the wrong way. But a slight feeling of anger rose in her at... perhaps the implication she was only needed for the mission in Plegia. Was she not needed for more than strategy? Couldn't he be concerned about her safety because... Because of... Robin wasn't sure what she wanted to hear. But instinct told her to brush it off; she had no time to worry about such a small issue. Not before battle. Even if it meant leaving the unspoken words for Chrom resting on the tip of her tongue.

"I will be," she assured him. She clutched Catria's reigns harder in her hands.

"And Lissa," the prince continued. "Watch out for the wounded?"

"Of course!"

Robin was growing impatient and waiting to get started, waiting to get up in the air. There was a strange sense of clear-headedness she seemed to get right at the beginning of a battle. A moment where she saw the untouched battlefield and all the opportunities within it, everything turning into a history waiting to be written, a blank canvas waiting to be painted. The only morbid part was it was waiting to be painted red.

"Chrom, you give the word," she said, her voice steeled as she braced herself to launch her pegasus into the air.

Chrom nodded, drawing Falchion from its sheath and holding it aloft.

"Shepherds, TO ARMS!"


	11. Such bonds

**Not sure how this wound up being one of my longest chapters since it was one of the hardest for me to write... ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯**

* * *

 **Such bonds**

Robin let out a groan, her head beginning to throb under the stress of the past day. She had been up since dawn marching to Ferox, and then through battle in the Border Sands, and now she and Chrom were going on their fourth hour of planning out the next day's attack on the Plegian capital. It all seemed to have flashed before her eyes yet dragged on for an eternity, making sure to leave an ache in her muscles to remember it all by.

"I think we've planned as much as we can, Chrom," she muttered through tired lips. She let her eyes gaze once more over all of the notes and maps they'd laid out, ink running in organized chaos all over every piece of parchment and flooding her eyes with black. There were still more final touch-ups she could do, but for the time being, Chrom needed his sleep. The commander needed to be fit for the day to come more than anyone else. "For now, you need to sleep. You'll need our strength for tomorrow."

The prince nodded by her side, his expression solemn and serious, though just as tired as her own. Robin reminded herself that he had had all of the physical stress she had, though the added fear of his sister's impending execution weighing on his heart. "I think we have a solid strategy," he said distractedly. Under normal circumstances, he would've insisted she rest up as well, but these were no normal circumstances.

"We do. At this time tomorrow, all of this will be behind us," replied Robin. Noticing the lack of response on Chrom's face, she gentle placed a hand on his shoulder. "We won't let anything happen to her, Chrom. This plan will work."

Chrom gave a delayed reply, putting on a weak smile after a pause, lost in thought. Barely, he gazed up at Robin from the table. "I know it will. I'll make sure of that."

Silence ruled the room once more as the two of them stood near one another, both inside their own minds. Robin's mind was racing with further measures that could be taken should any variations from the original strategy present themselves. One could never be too careful.

However, when a small laugh and a ghost of a smile came from Chrom, her attention was drawn to him and away from the plans.

"Did I ever tell you about the time Emm and I played hide-and-go-seek with Lissa?" he asked, for the first time that evening having an emotion other than worry on his face. Granted it was only but a hint of reminiscence, but nonetheless a relief for Robin to see.

"No, you didn't," she replied, sitting down in the chair behind her. She'd been standing almost the entirety of the few hours in the tent, intently looking over the maps and running around to scribble down notes on some paper on the other side of the table. Her feet welcomed the deliverance from their aching, and her mind welcomed the start of a conversation about a normal topic.

"I must've been six... No – seven," Chrom began, taking a seat next to the tactician with as much relief to sit as she had shown. "It was the year my father had died. The three of us didn't have lessons one day, and we decided to play hide-and-go seek on the grounds, and in this particular instance, it had been my turn to seek out my sisters. Now, Emmeryn knew the castle far better than Lissa or myself – she still does – since she was the one doing actual business within it, so finding her was always near impossible!

Once I'd found Lissa, we searched for Emm for a good fifteen minutes and couldn't find her, and Lissa began to cry." Chrom's nostalgic expression had turned the slightest bit saddened. Robin's face sank in response. "When I asked why, she told me she thought Emmeryn had disappeared. Forever. She was too young to understand that-... That not everyone disappeared like our father had. She thought Emm had died, in short."

Though he let out a laugh, Robin found herself still upset. Although it was but a small childhood story, she knew what he was really getting at, how he'd gotten to thinking about that memory. It was too easy to see in the downcast eyes he was trying to hide.

"Emmeryn is not going to die tomorrow," she reassured him. "We'll find her, we'll fight our way back home, and she'll come back to the palace safe and sound. You said so yourself earlier today, didn't you? We'll be swapping tales with her on the walk home by tomorrow."

"I know I said that," he stated, looking away and suddenly concentrating very hard on the wall. "But Robin, I'm terrified."

Did she hear him correctly?

Of course she'd expected him to be worried, but for as long as she'd known him, he'd been the very image of bravery. Of a daring and stubborn prince who let nothing and no one stand in his path. Especially this past day, he'd seemed so driven and assured, moreso than herself, that things would work out no matter what.

He was terrified?

"Emmeryn has been like a mother to me," he continued. "I hate even the idea of her hurting or being afraid. I hate the idea of thinking she could be gone by tomorrow, no matter how well we've prepared ourselves. I can't bear the thought of losing her, especially not when... When I haven't..."

His lips had tightened, his eyebrows lowered as he clearly tried to keep his breathing in check. Though Robin knew from experience what he was talking about.

"When you haven't had the chance to tell her you love her." This was a feeling Robin had become familiar with, though towards no one else in particular. It was a feeling of guilt, a burden on her shoulders constantly whispering questions of who it was she'd left behind in her old life. Who had been missing her all this time? Surely, she'd left someone behind, if not multiple people. Were they worried about her? Had she hurt them in her absence? Did they know they'd been important to her? What had she left unsaid? There was a need of closure, of telling someone how you've loved them before you never have another chance.

"Chrom, listen to me," Robin began, scooting forward towards him in her chair and forcing eye contact. She wanted to make her next point very clear. "Regardless of what should happen tomorrow, Emmeryn knows how much you've loved her. You've been a fantastic brother to her, always watching out for her safety, making tough decisions so she wouldn't have to. And do you want to know something?"

Chrom raised his eyebrows, awaiting what Robin had to say next.

"My first night in the castle," she began, now finding a memory of her own to tell. The Exalt had come to the room Robin had been given to sleep in in the palace, wanting to check up on her and make sure she was comfortable. The two exchanged polite conversation which lead to a shorter, though more in depth discussion. "She told me she didn't know what she would do without you and Lissa. That you two are her everything. She loves you with all her heart, Chrom; I can see it. You have nothing in your relationship to regret."

Chrom's face was, in that moment, quite hard to read. And Robin considered herself good at reading people. Though she could see within his eyes a mixture of being touched, being relieved, and being desperate. Desperate, she assumed, to see his sister and hear these things from her himself.

"So tomorrow, you can march into battle with a clean conscience," Robin said confidently. She placed a strong hand on Chrom's forearm, looking him in the eye with a cocky smile. "The bonds between us, the relationships we have with one another – such bonds are the true strength of this army. _That's_ where our power lies, moreso than in my strategies. Your love for Emmeryn is strong, and it would take a demon from hell to break that bond. No ordinary man nor king nor general would be able to. Combine that with our physical strength and intense planning and that General Campari won't stand a chance against you, against _us_ , let alone the rest of those Plegian dastards!"

Chrom examined Robin's eyes for a moment, looking for that spark of confidence that always seemed to grow within the brown irises when she became passionate about something, always lending him an ounce or two of confidence when he needed it. The spark was overwhelmingly easy to see.

He felt the corners of his mouth tug upwards against his will as he said, "You have a very infectious kind of confidence, do you know that?"

"Is that a bad thing?" Robin asked, a smile showing itself on her face as well.

"No," Chrom replied gently. "No, not at all. I'm rather thankful for it actually."

"As am I, if it means you're reassured and fit for the morrow."

"I am." Chrom found the intense burning in his stomach gone, the cold feeling in his heart from fear as well. Robin was right; he and Emmeryn and Lissa too... Their bonds were strong. It would take much more than a mad king to tear them apart, and he would be damned if he would be proven wrong.

"Thank you, Robin. For..." For her words. For always being there to pull him up when he needed her. For being the voice of reason in his life. For simply being who she was. "For everything."

Chrom's unusually gentle tone of voice and expression sent a jolt through Robin's stomach, undoubtedly twinging her cheeks with pink as she found her eyes unable to leave his.

"I'm happy to do it," she replied, putting effort into keeping her voice level. She became very aware of her hand still grasping his forearm before suddenly retracting it, almost fearing what would happen if she left it there. "You know I'm always here for you." She now forced her voice to sound more casual as she stood up and turned away from him as he spoke, going about collecting the papers on the table as though her heart wasn't racing with thoughts of 'what-if.'

 _What if he interpreted my words wrong?_ She worried. Finding themselves in such a stressful, emotionally taxing situation... The last thing Robin wanted was for anyone to feel like she was taking advantage of their vulnerability. _What must he think of me, getting so personal? He's my captain; I shouldn't be-_

"Here, let me help you with those," Chrom's voice interrupted her thoughts.

He had stood up with energy again, though she knew he was exhausted. His eyebrows had unpinched and he looked relaxed again, though he'd been on the verge of tears mere moments ago.

Robin thanked him quickly as she tried to return to her self-scolding, though somehow she just couldn't manage to return to that mindset. Was she a bit embarrassed by the closeness she'd initiated? Yes. But when Chrom had rolled up some of the maps in his arms and turned to her with that small, stoic smile she came to know so well, maybe, she realized, it was worth breaking the barrier down between the two of them. Maybe it was worth it if it put him at peace, got him smiling again.

She should be thankful that she had such a stalwart partner on the battlefield and off, one that she could be of comfort to and vice versa. One she could call a friend. After all, hadn't she just been telling him the true strength of their army lay in their friendships and love for one another?

Yes, she realized as Chrom exited the tent for the night with a kind nod of the head and a 'goodnight', leaving her standing alone and lost in thought. Their closeness, the same one she'd been scolding herself for, between them and between all the other Shepherds would be enough to lead them to victory. She wouldn't let herself fail him, her closest friend, when they arrived in Plegia. She wouldn't allow herself to fail Lissa, who had done her the kindness of treating her as family, and she certainly wouldn't allow herself to fail Emmeryn, who had welcomed her – an amnesiac with nothing to her name, not even a past – with open arms and given her a place to call home.

No. Her love for these people would protect them. She would make sure of it, even if it meant putting her own life at stake.

Though maybe, maybe... the people that she loved were feeling the same thing about her. Maybe somewhere Sumia or Cordelia or Lissa or even Chrom were desperate to protect her. That feeling gave her enough solace to lay down on her bedroll that night and sleep soundly. The feeling that she had people at her back, that when morning came, someone would be watching over her. The feeling that she, the mystery woman who started with absolutely nothing, was loved.


	12. No Reaction- Was I Wrong, Then?

**I think we all know what the next few chapters will be dealing with, and let's be honest using the coming songs in any way other than how they were originally used is musical and gaming sacrilege. So sorry if these seem espeeeeecially novelization-y, but I hope they won't discourage you too bad.**

* * *

 **No Reaction... Was I Wrong, Then?**

How was it that even from so high up, she could still hear her brother's footsteps below? Or perhaps she was just imagining the sound each time she saw his foot meet the sandstone in his sprint of desperation towards her. Emmeryn let her eyes follow him as he drew nearer. He always did behave rashly under pressure, she remembered with a twinge of reminiscence. Even if he were to reach her... Nothing would change. This was what Emmeryn thought right, and so she knew it must be.

Closing her eyes only for a moment was enough to pull her attention back forward, her gaze settling instead on the vast expanse of desert mountains and villages before her. There was so much to be seen from where she stood in the sky, and yet truly not a sound could be heard. It seemed as though the world had stopped in the wake of her imploration. Everything save for her brother seemed to be still.

 _No reaction..._ she noted solemnly. She had hoped her words would have invoked _something_ within the Plegians, a change of heart perhaps. _Was I wrong, then?_

Once more, she let her eyes glance down to her brother. He was rapidly approaching her, putting everything he had into each stride he made. When had he gotten so old? When had he stopped being the young boy who'd she'd tutored in the history of their country, who'd batted her hand away when she tried to ruffle his hair, who was always so desperate to grow up and be independent yet content forever being at her back?

The screech of a bird sounded overhead. Emmeryn glanced upwards at its underside, realizing with her gaze no longer on her brother, who always met her eyes as a boy, that he had indeed become a man. So much time had passed...

 _Chrom,_ _this is some torch I'm passing you,_ she thought, realizing that in a few moments all of the responsibility she'd held all those years, coupled with whatever aftereffects this act of hers would bring, would fall to him. Ylisse would be on the shoulders of her little brother, though it was fair to say his shoulders were not so little anymore.

Would the people be disappointed in her for leaving them? Would Chrom resent her for it? Would he at least understand someday why she was making this choice? Surely he hadn't wanted, hadn't planned to spend his life with the nation's weight in his hands, but she hoped one day he would see that she'd done this for him and for their people. She hoped... No – she had no doubt in her mind that he could handle the weight of the Exalt's crown, and he would lead their people just as well as she had – if not better – in her wake.

Without realizing it, Emmeryn had watched the bird as it flew overhead, trailing its shadowed wings as it glided through the sky. A bittersweet "hmm" escaped her as a smile in equal mood graced her lips. She knew that one way or another, this sacrifice would give rise to a new age for the Halidom. Chrom's age was coming, and she would be the one to prompt it.

"So be it."

She had lived a full life. A life rich in color and love. In spite of the loss of her parents and the saddened, angry spirits Ylisse had once been home to, she had found acceptance, forgiveness, purpose... Love. The love of a younger sister who knew no other mother, of a younger brother who she watched become a man, of her only childhood friend who she trusted as the protector and, in a way, as a surrogate father to her precious siblings just as she'd been their mother. She only hoped that as the years went on, her family would be so blessed as to find the love she had, and hopefully they would find it in an era of peace.

Emmeryn opened her eyes with resolve, focusing on the vast landscape before her as she took one, two, three, four slow and graceful steps forward. The tips of her boots poised on the edge of the protruding rock, floating on the edge of empty air, she brought her hands to her chest clasped in prayer.

 _Mother, Father..._ She thought of her deceased parents, without whom she'd lived for too long. As she brought the edges of her feet over the platform's edge, she laid her weight on her heels, balancing herself only a moment longer. _Finally we'll meet again._

Only a slight lean forward, and the warm desert wind rushed over her face.

She let herself fall.


	13. Don't Speak Her Name!

**Don't Speak Her Name!**

Robin couldn't remember the last time she'd been so soaked, nor could she remember caring less. Her cloak had doubled in weight, making her long for the days she'd spent in pegasus knight armor. Her hair had become humid as it clung to her face and neck, adding to her growing feeling that she was suffocating. Her heart was already racing, and she already felt her chest feeling it was about to collapse in on her. Gods, she had let the Exalt die...

Rain fell from the deep gray skies in sheets, a phenomenon that as far as she knew wasn't common to desert lands. Surely it was the heavens, the gods, and all their angels weeping in sympathy for mankind. The world had been robbed of one of the purest of souls.

From the front of the army, now reduced to a mass of fleeing Ylisseans who happened to carry weapons on the brink of breaking, Khan Basilio called back to them. He had to scream to be head over footsteps and raindrops, but Robin had a feeling that as he urged them to run faster, to keep going, he would've been screaming anyway.

Beside her, Chrom had stopped, his head turning slightly to the side as though he wanted to look back towards the capital. Robin felt a pang of remorse run through her stomach as she pleaded with him to continue. Going back was no option... For as much as she knew they all wanted to, it was out of the question. They needed to get everyone they still could to safety.

Within a mile of where the West Khan had said the caravan was that would smuggle them out, they found themselves standing between cliffs, whose tops as well as the paths between them were littered with enemy soldiers. Robin's heart felt as though it would sink straight down into the depths of the earth. Had they not suffered enough? Was the death of a leader, a sister, a friend not enough? Could the world not allow them at the very least an easy escape so that they may mourn peace?

"Ylisseans!" called a voice from far ahead, though its owner couldn't be seen. "I offer you mercy! Surrender to me now and live! Emmeryn would not have wished for this to come to bloodshed."

"Don't speak her name!" Chrom screamed back to the voice, rage and pain filling every word.

"Your rage is justified, Prince Chrom. But the meaning of your sister's final sacrifice was not lost on me. I suspect many Plegians who heard her final words would say the same. If you lay down your weapons, I vow to protect you as best I can."

How could they expect to be trusted after everything they had done? After the sheer pain that barbaric madman they called a king had just put on them? After starting the war that lead the Exalt to cut the thread of her own life?

No. They would fight.

* * *

"Frederick! Take Lissa and go!"

"No! No! Robin, please!"

The tactician pushed through the pain of hearing the young girl's wails as she grabbed her by the waist and quickly hoisted her up into Frederick's arms. Her tears fell harder. The knight placed her on the back of his horse as her arm stretched out, reaching out and screaming for her brother who couldn't hear her. He was too busy fending off enemies as his sister's safety was secured.

"Vaike! Maribelle! Follow after them and back them up," Robin ordered. She had no time to stop and think about how wrong it felt to be commanding an army she had failed. Her only thoughts now were how to keep yet another person from falling through her fingers. Especially another royal. "I don't want a finger laid upon Lissa! Understand?"

Three heads responded with nods, the fourth buried itself in the back of Frederick's armor as its owner's shaking hand clutched his shoulder.

"Go!"

Not a moment after they'd left, a squelch in the mud alerted her to a soldier approaching her from the right. His lance tip was pointed straight at her and quickly making for her abdomen, though she whipped her spell book out almost as though by reflex.

The rain weakened her magic, and she saw Miriel's barely-burning blazes ahead were facing the same effect. Though it was luckily still enough to shatter the soldier in an explosion of light. The sound of thunder from her spell somehow seemed to accompany the rain as the sharp contrast between lightning and darkness sent spots in her vision.

Her way was clear now. It was time to move forward.

It wasn't until she opened her mouth to try to call Chrom ahead with her that panic rose in her stomach. He wasn't there.

She hadn't assigned anyone to look after him! He couldn't just run off on his own; he knew better than that. Robin cursed him and called his name once, twice, but her only answer was the sound of cries of war and bodies around her falling in the mud. Her comrades and her enemies surrounded her, flooding her vision, and she knew nothing remained but to fight her way through – _quickly –_ and find the prince. He couldn't face the enemy all alone; They couldn't afford to lose him as well. _Gods protect him until I find him._

Robin took off running between the cliffs, firing a spell here and there against approaching enemies. The other Shepherds could be seen and heard around her: Cordelia's pegasus flying overhead – an ominous white against a gray sky, Stahl fighting off a lancer as his horse seemed on the brink of collapse from exhaustion, little Nowi breathing the most ferocious fire she could as Libra made sure she didn't get too hurt. Robin caught up with Tharja as well, still not trusting her wholeheartedly. She wasn't entirely convinced she hadn't had something to do with leading them into this ambush in the first place. In passing, she grabbed the woman's elbow and shoved her into the arms of the nearest Shepherd, who happened to be Gaius. "Watch her!" she'd told him before continuing her run forward.

There truly was no order this battle. There were so few plans. Any passer-by would've thought the Shepherds were just a band of well-armored civilians fighting for their lives rather than highly trained and organized royal soldiers. Any passer-by would've been partially right... This was no battle; battle was order, and it was fought with resolve by soldiers fighting for a cause they believed in. This was nothing more than a desperate struggle being fought through a sea of grief and remorse felt by both sides, and every man or woman on the field was fighting more out of emotion and necessity than any belief. This theory was evidenced by the mutters of regret from each soldier who struck down someone opposite him, and most especially by the mutters of the name "Emmeryn." The very mention of her sent overwhelming pangs of heartbreak through Robin's stomach and chest, but she knew if she didn't keep fighting her way forward, she might eventually hear the soldiers whispering Chrom and Lissa's names in addition.

Noticing Cordelia dipping low to take out an axe-fighter up ahead, Robin quickened her pace and called out the woman's name. With a swing of her lance, the pegasus knight weakened the enemy soldier before looking up at Robin, who finished the man off with a strike of lightning.

Without words, Robin stuck her foot in one of the stirrups of Cordelia's saddle, nudging the redhead's foot out of the way. She gave her the command to fly again, clutching onto the pegasus' side as they rose into the air. Surely, she'd be able to find the prince from up there.

The whole area looked as dreadful as she'd expected, worse almost from such a high view. Bodies lay everywhere, many even in Ylissean blue. Flashes of fire showed her Miriel, back to back with Virion and struggling to fight off a mass of enemies surrounding them. Young Ricken was protected by Gregor as he attempted to defend himself against a wyvern. Sumia supported Sully by the shoulder, as far from the action as she could get, before a flash of white light came from Libra across the cliffs to heal them. Frederick was mowing down enemies like Robin had never seen, taking care that no one came near Lissa, as Vaike back him up and Maribelle fired weak magic and attempted to keep everyone healed. Everywhere was chaos, struggle, pain...

And rage.

Her eyes spotted Chrom, a fair distance ahead of them. He was plowing his way through the opposite forces without stop: one enemy fell, and he turned around a cut down another in a single swing. She could almost hear his yelling from up in the sky.

"Cordelia," she yelled over the wind and the sound of the storm. "Down there! To Chrom!"

* * *

He was vaguely aware of Falchion piercing through a body and entering mud as the last of the throng of barbarians sent after him was wiped out.

His shoulders heaved with exhaustion, but moreso with fury. Any time he stopped and let his mind have a moment to look around him, to think about where he was, what he was doing, what had happened, he felt his shoulders shake with the effort of holding back bitter tears. He needed to be stronger. He needed to make it through this battle, to wipe out the Plegian scum who had taken his sister from him.

And just like that, the rage was back.

He withdrew his sword from the lifeless soldier beneath him and was ready to turn his attention back to the battlefield. The rain was so thick it was almost turning the mudscape in front of him white. He could barely see anything through the heavy sheets falling from the sky, but ahead of him, a figure caught his eye. She was brighter and more visible than all the enemy soldiers and all his comrades despite being further away on the top of a cliff.

Her green robes almost seemed to glow as she stood on the cliff's edge. Chrom immediately froze at seeing her blonde hair, perfectly dry despite the rain. His blood went cold. _Sister?_

Emmeryn's sage's robes blew lightly in the wind as her face turned sad. She clasped her hands in front of her stomach, and she tilted her head ever so slightly to the right. She had always done that when she asked Chrom a favor... Always when she said-

"Please, Chrom."

To hear her voice, to hear it clear as a bell as though she were right next to him, sent shivers down Chrom's back. Had he not just watched her die in Plegia? What cruelty was making him see her again, knowing she wasn't real? Or perhaps she was real, and sending him a plea from beyond the grave?

" _Emmeryn wouldn't have wished for this to come to bloodshed."_ He hated hearing that man, that commander, speak as though he'd known her. As though he'd known what she would've wanted. Though perhaps the real issue, Chrom realized, was that that man had spoken a truth the hurt prince was not willing to face – not when he had such a thirst for revenge.

A tear rolled down his sister's face. Maybe he had seen it from so far away, or maybe he'd just been able to sense it. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to run to her, to take her in his arms and end this battle and bloodshed – which he deep down truly knew she wouldn't have wanted as a result of her sacrifice for peace. He'd have rather dropped Falchion then and there and had the chance to see his sister close to him, ghost or not, than lift his sword once more in this massacre of a battle.

Though fate wouldn't have it as such.

"CHROM!" a voice bellowed from behind him. A blinding flash of light jolted him out of his thoughts. Shielding his eyes from the blinding light, he whipped around his shoulder and raised his sword again, though it seemed twice as heavy now.

Behind him was Robin, fighting off a wave of soldiers with her tome as Cordelia soared back into the skies to take on a wyvern above them. A partially charred body lay within inches of him, a sword in his hand that had been ready to kill Chrom had Robin not jumped in. More of his kind in Plegian red armor were right behind him, and the tactician was struggling to hold them off.

With urgency, Chrom jumped back into action, leaping forward with an undercut to the ribs of a swordsman who was seconds away from leaving a gaping gash in Robin's arm. Her robe was already covered in a vile mixture of blood and mud, and she was grunting with the effort of fighting off a barbarian with her sword. He'd be damned if he let them take her as well.

Forced to put all thoughts of pain out of his head once more, he continued to fight tirelessly at Robin's aid. Though no longer was his head blinded by rage. Rather, he began to feel the same feeling of absolute pain that the other Shepherds were. His will to fight began to drain.

He didn't get the chance to see if the ghost of his sister still waited on the cliff, though he assumed if she'd been watching still, there were no doubt tears falling from her eyes.

She didn't want things to come to bloodshed.

The soldiers of Plegia hadn't wanted to fight. Neither had their commander, though Mustafa had been right in saying a soldier's job is not to judge, but rather deliver judgment. They were left without a choice but to strike down the Ylisseans, even if it pained them to do so when they thought of Lady Emmeryn. She had been right in saying that war would only bring them sorrow.

And so, when Frederick had made it to the commander and cut him down, the man's last wish was met: They spared the rest of his men. Though if they were being honest, it was less sparing the Plegian soldiers out of understanding and more trying to get themselves to safety while they had a chance that motivated that decision.

When the Shepherds and what Ylissean soldiers were left found themselves stuffed shoulder-to-shoulder into circus wagons by a dancer, there were no words left to be said. Everyone was soaked, covered head to toe in mud and blood from enemies and allies alike. The weight of the massacre was heavy on their shoulders, their hearts ached, and their stomach's hurt. Rain pattering on the wagon's roof as well at the occasional earsplitting crack of thunder were the only sounds to be heard over the horses' galloping as everyone took in what they'd just been through.

Lissa hadn't let go of her older brother since being reunited with him after the battle, and the two of them leaned on the edge of the wagon's wall in silence. Chrom absent-mindedly had an arm draped around his sister's as she eventually cried herself to sleep on his shoulder. Robin sat with her fingers on her temples, knees pulled close to her chest as a look of surrendered misery clouded her face.

"Is everyone okay?" the tactician asked shakily after roughly a quarter of an hour, her eyes wide and unmoving as she spoke. Her solemn voice rang out through the wagon as though she'd screamed, splitting the silent atmosphere with that one somber question.

Her concern was met with silent nods all around – save for Lissa, Chrom, and Frederick, who looked to lost in grief to register her voice. Each face looked as grim and shell-shocked as the next. Robin didn't react to their responses, seeming rather to have asked out of reflex and necessity than a genuine ability to worry. She was far beyond that feeling now.

The ride to Ferox wast thereafter spent in silence. There were no words worthy of their anguish and heartbreak. Once or twice it happened that someone needed to vomit out the window. Though even then, no words were spoken, and the poor soul who'd become too overwhelmed received nothing more than a sad rub on the back. But no words were spoken. None at all.

* * *

 **Honestly, writing such a novelization-y chapter is not easy... I tried to put some of my own tidbits in there, but all in all not easy. This one wasn't particularly enjoyable to write, one reason for that being that it's the saddest point in the game and made me a little depressed! Another being I enjoy using canon more as a guideline for original stuff than writing straight up what we saw in the game. But I think this song is truly sacred and captures the mood so well; I wouldn't have wanted to write any purely original situation and pretend that could do it justice.**

 **I hope this chapter was enough. We're leaving Novelization Station now and going back to our regular scheduled OrigiCanon programming next.**


	14. Dry your tears, love

***quick update: Damn horizontal lines always get taken out, and always where they're most necessary**

* * *

 **Well, here it is. The result of seven days and three drafts of writers block. Good riddance, I say. Though I didn't want to leave this out. I saw potential for Frederick here, and this is one of my favorite deciding moments in Chrom and Robin's relationship.**

 **Also, if you haven't read The Exalt's Letter from the drama CD (which apparently is a thing, as I recently found out) DO THAT NOW. Otherwise this isn't gonna make much sense.**

* * *

 **Dry your tears, love. This is not goodbye.**

The mountains of Western Ferox looked cold and barren. Snowcaps were all that could be seen resting on them, leaving them looming drearily in the distance to the east. However, the radiant orange of the sunset to the west lit up their precipices and turned the whole sky golden.

A beautiful display wasted on such a poor mood.

Frederick stood at the stone railings of the open hallways gazing out over the horizon. Two days had passed since they'd arrived; surely, they'd be heading out soon and making their way back to Plegia. The oddest feeling of total preparedness and utter hopelessness filled the knight's chest. He knew he was ready to avenge the Exalt's death. Though the first part of that sentence brought him adrenaline, the second brought only grief.

He thought carrying the letter Lady Emmeryn intended for her brother in the event of her death would be the biggest weight his shoulders would carry. Then he thought giving it to the prince after her demise would be the worst it would get. As it turned out, the worst feeling was sitting without that letter inside his armor in the wake the Exalt had left behind, knowing her life and all her wishes were now officially, truly over, delivered, and done.

The setting sun reminded him of Ylisstol, where the end of the day left with even more grace and beauty than in this cold and barren corner of the world. A fleeting memory passed through his mind, short but filled with detail: He was a boy of no more than fourteen. Somehow he found himself taken from his training to care for the youngest princess, a job which became more that of a warden than a caretaker. The sun was setting low, vibrantly scarlet, and young Lissa had managed to toddle off again, chasing after a butterfly which – in the light of the sun – appeared to be merely a flying, black shadow.

"Frederick, look! I caught one! I caught a _butterfry_!"

Before he could reply, a soft, endeared chuckle came from behind his shoulder. The Exalt stood beside him, a peaceful smile on her face which he would come to know well over the years. A scar was healing on her shoulder, leaving her right arm wrapped in bandages, and Frederick had heard her not hours earlier crying to her younger brother. But in spite of all that, looking at her sister jumping about in the grass, she looked to be more at peace than any man on earth.

Emmeryn relieved him of his duties with a hand on his shoulder before slipping off her shoes, leaving them on the white stone of the patio, and wading into the grass towards her sister in her bare feet.

Frederick had intended to return to his quarters with the other few knights-in-training with haste and perhaps even get some swordplay in before their evening meals were served. But when he slipped back through the glass doors into the castle, he caught a glimpse of the two princesses as he turned around to close the door behind him.

The two of them were aglow with the setting sun behind them. Emmeryn bent down and took her sister's hands in her own, gently easing them open and allowing a butterfly to crawl onto her finger. There it rested for only moment before taking flight and fluttering away. Lissa had her head gently taken into the hands of her older sister as a soft kiss was planted on her forehead.

It was a sight to put even the most violent of men at peace.

But now, there was no garden, no butterfly. Fourteen years had passed and the youngest princess was now a young woman hadn't smiled in two days. Her hands would never again be held by her sister, her forehead never again kissed by her lips. The last words she'd heard from the woman she most adored were a false promise: "Dry your tears, love. This is not goodbye."

Now all that was left was the sunset to remind the knight of what once was. To put such a feeling of bitter nostalgia in his stomach.

"Excuse me?"

Who was this meek voice who sought to disturb him from his reminiscing?

"You're Frederick, the royal knight, right?"

He slowly brought his head down and to his side where the new dancer, Olivia, stood at his side. With a deep, almost annoyed breath, he replied.

"Yes, I am."

Olivia spoke up even after he turned his head away, her voice quiet and timid. "I wanted to ask you a question about Lady Emmeryn. You knew her, right?"

Incoherent flashes of blonde hair and a smile from the Ylissean throne flashed through his mind. The ache in his heart renewed itself.

"Yes, I did," he answered, returning his gaze to the mountains. "Quite well."

"That must've been a blessing," commented Olivia with a weak smile. She took a single step closer towards Frederick, approaching the stone railing of the wrap-around balcony. "I-... Well, I- I suppose I just wanted to ask what she was like."

What she was like? Why did this woman want to know?

"I-I-If you don't mind my asking!" Olivia stuttered after the fact, drawing her arms even closer to her body as if to look smaller. "She did me a kindness once; I owe almost everything I have now to her. I suppose I just wanted to know who it was I've been thanking all this time. She- She seemed like... a wonderful person. B-But if it's painful for you to talk about then ple-!"

"She was always wise beyond her years," Frederick began. He never considered himself a man of emotion or eloquence with words, so to describe years worth of time with the Exalt was difficult. How could he put so many years, such a personality as Emmeryn had had into words?

But for once, when he saw her face in his mind, when he thought of all the years they'd grown up together, he felt words and he felt emotion, and he felt someone deserved to know what he knew about her. Someone had to hear about the time she nursed a baby mouse from the kitchens to health alone, the time she'd attempted to cut a young Chrom's hair on her own, knocked an expensive statue over and fallen into a nearby pond while attempting to teach Lissa wind magic, healed a village full of sick peasants and spent the next week recovering from her own exhaustion. If someone else knew, those memories would be sure to live on... Emmeryn would be sure to live on.

Though he stood straight, tall, and still and his face remained calm, he was very glad to have someone to listen and to share the burden of keeping these memories alive.

"Though she could have the demeanor of a child when she so wished! There were days -..."

* * *

"Chrom?" The purple sleeve of her robe slid down her arm and exposed her to the cold air as she felt her knuckles rap on the heavy wooden door. "It's Robin. Can I come in?"

She heard no answer. Her stomach sank at imagining what was awaiting her inside. Most likely, the prince was either depressed, crying, or angry with her.

She slowly pushed the ornate metal handle of the door down, giving him time to turn her away if she was unwanted. Still, no calling came from the door's other side, so she entered.

"Chrom?"

The windows still stood wide open, letting in the evening light as the room became bathed in a dim glow turned somber by the gray stone walls.

The prince stood near his bed, his shoulders tense and a piece of paper gripped in his hands and held before him. "Good evening," he greeted her shortly, not looking up from the words he was staring at intently on the page.

"Good evening," replied Robin. Gently, she closed the door behind her and cautiously entered the room. She wasn't quite sure where to begin; she hadn't spoken with Chrom since arriving two days ago. If she were being honest, she wasn't sure why she'd come to his room now in the first place. She didn't take him the type to need comforting like his younger sister, even if both of them were putting on brave faces. There was always the upcoming battle strategies to run by him...

She had of course been doing everything in her power to make up for for her failures in Plegia: Inventory, supervising the healing tent, planning interim training regimens, caring for the Pegasi... She took on everything, comforting the Shepherds included. Everything to make herself feel she was still needed. Or perhaps to fix the mess she'd made so she could attempt to move on. The only thing she felt still needed fixing was Chrom, and she hadn't known just how to face him. He wasn't even looking at her now.

"I just came to discuss a few things... And to check on you."

Chrom nodded slowly, remaining absorbed in the paper in his hands a moment longer. His head raised up afterwards, lowering his arm at the same time. He looked Robin in the eyes with an unreadable expression. "It's been a few days since we've spoken, hasn't it?"

"Yes, I'm sorry," the tactician apologized. Having his attention, she felt more comfortable approaching him on the other side of the room. "I've been... busy."

"Hm."

Why did he seem so forlorn? Just what had he been reading?

"Is everything alright?" Robin asked, her eyes wandering to the sheet of paper pinched between the prince's fingers.

"Frederick gave me this letter earlier today," he replied, holding the letter up to look at it once more. "...It's from Emm."

"Lady Emmeryn?" Robin's eyes widened as her stomach clenched. A will? A letter from beyond the grave? How painful it must be for him to read... She held out her hand gently, opening her palm to ask if she may read it as well. "May I?"

She found the letter silently handed over to her. Hearing its slight crinkle between her fingers, she looked over the delicate script and began to read aloud.

" _Chrom. If you are reading this letter…"_

"I was wrong...," Chrom concluded in a whisper as Robin finished reading. He had ended up sitting on the bed with his head in his hands as Robin paced the room. "The whole time I thought I was protecting her, when she was protecting me."

"Of course she was," Robin answered, her eyes still lost in the letter. "She loved you."

"And I loved her, like I told you before: she was a mother to me." Chrom thought back to the night before their march to the Plegian capital and the conversation he'd had there with Robin. "To know she loved me as a child... It must seem daft but it's a rather small comfort to know."

"It's not daft," Robin whispered. She didn't think so for an instant. Quite the contrary, in fact, as a feeling of relief was beginning to grow in her chest. Just to hear someone speak the word 'comfort' was one in itself.

"But I think I understand now. I understand why she did what she did." Chrom rose from the bed and paced over to Robin, taking the sheet of paper back from her and gently pinching it between his fingers. "It wasn't just out of necessity or because I was weak or incapable, but rather out of love. I want to do the same for this world."

"Chrom..."

"I want to give my all to protect this world and love it as Emm did. It's my duty as an Ylissean royal." A look of somber determination crossed the prince's face. His blue eyes stayed locked on the signature on the letter, his sister's name. That signature was the last seal on her wishes, her legacy, and that legacy was now Chrom's to carry on. "Soon, we'll be on our way to defeat Gangrel, and I swear it, Robin, I'll not let him destroy our peace any further. I'll protect the world I love and the people I love as well. Just as Emm would've."

To hear him speak so hopefully... Just two days ago, he'd been almost in tears in her arms, wondering if he was truly worthy of his sister's ideals. Now here he was, renewed and ready to live them out as his own. Was he truly growing better? Was he truly not angry with her? Shouldn't he have been?

"Robin? Are you okay?"

Without realizing it, Robin had let her eyes well up with tears. What emotion they stood for, she didn't know. In any case, she hurriedly brushed the tip of her cloak sleeves at her eyes, wiping away the tears.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just... I'm so relieved to see you're alright." She had walked into this room expecting to fulfill her promise to pick Chrom up when he was down. At the very least, she was expecting bitterness. For the entirety of the past two days, she'd done nothing but try to make up for her failures, and now... he was alright? "I hated to think you were so discouraged and upset. I hated knowing..."

With every word, she could feel her chest shaking. She wasn't so overwhelmed as to let herself cry in front of him, but it was enough a wave of emotion to set her voice shaking.

"I hated knowing I was partially responsible. I wanted to help, and I tried to! But nothing felt like enough." Where was this flood of words coming from? Had she been holding this much back this whole time? "Gods, you lost your sister because of me, and I just couldn't stand-"

"Robin," Chrom gently attempted to pause her.

"-seeing you so putting the blame on yourself when it should've been on m-"

"Robin! You've already done more than enough." Chrom raised his voice to stop her hurried rambling, looking her with a calm sternness right in her eyes. "I hate to see you exhausting yourself atoning for a mistake you weren't responsible for."

"I _was_ responsible, don't you understand, Chrom?" Robin retorted, her voice growing into a shout. Her face grew angry and miserable. "This was my _job!_ It was my _duty_ to keep us all safe, and I let everyone down! How can-... Even when I promised to help you fight for Emmeryn's ideals, I don't see how I can! How can I lead us in the days to come when I'm... when I've already failed the whole army?"

Chrom took a step closer as Robin pointed her gaze away with bitterness. In contrast to her anger, he kept his voice low and soothing.

"I failed in my duties as well, as a commander and a prince. But I'll tell you what you told me two days ago," he began. He thought back to Robin's face, covered in dirt and tears as her brown eyes bore into his with concern and determination. He thought about the words that gave him the courage to stand back up again and face the Shepherds and what was still giving him hope that they would emerge from the war victorious. It was time to give some of her kindness back. "If you aren't worthy, you'll work at it until you are. And if you fall, I'll be there to help pull you up.

"Robin when we got to Ferox I felt like the least worthy man in the world of a band of such brave soldiers as all of you, who had all fought so hard and stood by my side. I was sure I would lose everything, and I wasn't sure I even cared." Chrom thought back to the feeling of utter misery in his chest that day, as though his whole world was collapsing around him. And then one pillar, solid and ready to hold him up, appeared in front of him and put a hand on his arm. "Until you came to me. You promised to stand by my side, and now I promise to stand by yours. "

Robin found her eyes leave the floor to meet Chrom's. A frown was still on her lips and a disbelieving look in her eyes, as though she knew what words were coming but wasn't ready to accept them.

"Robin, I don't care if you lose one battle or a thousand! I wouldn't care if you decided to put down your sword and form an entertainment duet with Olivia!" said Chrom, humor entering his voice for the first time in too long. "I keep you here for more than your tactics. You're more to all of us than just the tactician; you're a dear friend. And I realized when you spoke to me that as long as I have you by my side... I won't falter again. Like you said, we'll lift one another up, and together we can live up to Emm's legacy. I'm sure of it."

"Chrom..." Robin couldn't find the words to reply. What had she done to deserve such a wonderful person in her life? How had she been blessed enough to have been delivered to someone who was willing to consider her as he did, as a dear friend and someone to be depended on no matter what? Was she truly worthy of that?

"We won't give up on 'loving the world', will we? On loving the people in it?" He, for one knew he wouldn't. Emmeryn was right: He would surely love the world, because the people he loved were in it. The people who swore to stay by his side. The people who could lift him up when he was at his lowest point. The people who he needed, who brought out the best in him.

Or perhaps the better term was 'person'.

"What do you say, friend?" Chrom held out a black-gloved hand to Robin, a gentle smile pushing his soft cheeks upwards towards his earnest eyes. "Are you still willing to help me? Will you help me lead the Shepherds to victory one more time?"

He really was going to stand by her. This thought came as a comfort to both of them. They needed one another, now more than ever.

Robin found a smile tug at the corners of her lips. As she looked into Chrom's eyes, sincerity and... something else she couldn't read looked back at her. It looked like the sweetest mixture of trust, concern, comfort and – the one thing that finally set Robin at ease to see – hope.

She reached her own hand out, resting it in his palm and feeling it grasped tightly by his fingers. She let her own smile grow and answered in confident honesty:

"It would be an honor."

* * *

 **Because there isn't** *clap* **enough** *clap* **Frederick/** *clap* **Olivia** *clap* **Fan-** *clap* **fiction.**

 **Also because I've never seen that letter mentioned in any other fanfic... It's a good letter! I hope to use more drama cd canon stuff later.** **ᶫᵘᶜᶦᶰᵃ'ˢ ᵗᶦᵃʳᵃ ᵍᶦᶠᵗ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᴹᵒᵗʰᵉʳ**


	15. Yes, it will take some getting used to

**Hope you all had a happy Christmas and are enjoying your break (if you have one).**

 **Here's the next chapter (longest by about 200 words!). Sorry for the delay. Writing romantic stuff for me is like trying to pulling teeth; lots of effort and lots of pain.**

* * *

 **Ha ha! Yes, it will take some getting used to.**

Had the whole city come to the cathedral?

Robin peeked out at the crowds from behind a stone pillar and through a set of glass doors, and she almost wished she'd stayed in her dressing room where she was supposed to be. The human masses of Ylisstol that had mere months ago amazed her now had her feeling as though a griffon was sitting on her chest. Every pew in the capital city's grand cathedral was filled, rows upon rows of finely-clad nobles waiting anxiously for the coronation of Exalt – or rather, as he'd decided – "King" Chrom. What Robin suspected they weren't anxious for, however, was the wedding that would accompany the royal crowning. The court had made their opinions of the future king marrying the army's tactician painfully clear over the course of the past few weeks...

Robin placed a white gloved hand on her stomach and took a deep, slow breath in an attempt to calm herself down. It didn't matter what the nobility thought, she chanted to herself. She was marrying the man she'd grown to love, with whom she'd developed a two-sided trust and respect, who she'd supported and who supported her, and that was what was important. She couldn't blame the court for receiving Chrom's insistence on taking Robin as his wife harshly; they'd not been with them since the day they met, and they'd not seen their relationship bloom as the other Shepherds had.

Ah, yes. The other Shepherds. As Robin set her sights on them, a neat line of lightly-armored guards along the cathedral walls, her heart felt more at ease. A timid smile graced her lips from under her short, white veil. This church wasn't filled with only unfamiliar faces, after all.

"I don't see why we have to make such a big show of this!" an irritated voice echoed from afar. Robin shirked back behind her pillar a bit more as she gazed down the hallway to her left, which wrapped around the side of the cathedral. Footsteps accompanied the voice as it grew closer.

"It's custom, milord."

"It's pageantry! It's flamboyant! This cape alone is worth more than the whole of this cathedral – about as heavy as the damned thing as well – and for wha- Stop adjusting it, Frederick!"

Frederick? Robin's eyes widened in alarm as she realized just who it was who was coming down the hall. In panic, she began to back away and scurry around in search of a hiding place.

"Apologies, milord," came the deep voice of the royal retainer. "Just remember to bear in mind: this _should,_ in the future, be referenced as the happiest day of your life."

They were getting closer! Robin stumbled about the hallways frantically, not wanting to run off ahead of them for fear of getting lost – she couldn't remember the way back to the dressing room. She and Chrom couldn't see each other before entering the sanctuary, which was precisely why they'd spent the past day and a half apart, broken off all contact save for a stolen the touch of one another's hands through an open crack in the door that morning. Only with the eyes of Naga on them could the beginning of their marriage be blessed with good fortune. Or so the old wives tales went, at least.

"It could've just as easily been so if we'd had a small ceremony with just the Shepherds," Chrom pointed out with agitation as he finally rounded the corner, his guard just behind his right shoulder as the two of them came into Robin's sight. "I'm sure Robin would-"

The two men came to a sudden halt, the bride standing guiltily in front of them. She knew she was caught, but her worries of impending bad luck became drowned out under the influence of the beaming smile that had crept onto her face at the sight of her husband-to-be.

Gone was the faded blue tunic he favored, gone was the tattered white cloth he still tried to pass as a cape. He had never looked more regal than he did now in a deep blue coat that buttoned up to his neck and a thick red cape trimmed with white fur (which she would admit, did in fact look quite heavy). It was odd to see him that way, but it was an oddly good feeling.

As bride and groom stood still, staring at one another with the purest of smiles growing on their faces, Frederick took this as his hint to bow out. He excused himself to 'attend to a few last minute duties', leaving the two of them alone.

"Robin," Chrom began, clearly trying to keep from grinning so widely as to keep him from even speaking. "You look..."

Robin blushed as she nervously smoothed the skirt of her dress down. All of the heavy white lace, the tight sleeves that went all the way to her hands, the corset (though Maribelle and the head housekeeper in charge of preparing her had shown mercy and given her one of the looser ones)... they all seemed to be closing in on her, lessening her mobility. She didn't expect to need to wield a sword any time soon, but knowing she couldn't set her on edge.

Though just once it did feel rather nice to be beautiful enough to stop a man in his tracks.

"Thank you," Robin said delicately, bashfully looking at the ground. "You know, they say it causes bad luck to see the bride in her dress before she enters the sanctuary."

"Bad luck married to you still isn't bad luck at all," stated Chrom gently, a tender look on his face. However, the tenderness didn't last long before giving way to his usual loss of eloquence. "That didn't make much sense. I- What I mean to say is- Y- _You_ are good luck. Not just because you're you! Well, yes because you're you, but... Because-"

It didn't take long before both of them lost the ability hold back their laughter at his stumbling tongue as he struggled to make it to the end of a sentence. As she stood giggling like a young girl, any nerves she'd had had disappeared; this was most definitely the same man she'd fallen in love with, and that was enough to remind her to be happy for this day.

"What I mean," Chrom calmed his own embarrassed smile down as he took a step towards Robin. She took him by the arm and guided him a couple more steps back to avoid being visible through the glass doors to the sanctuary. "Is I feel very lucky to be here. Marrying you."

"Not nearly as lucky as I do."

He took her right hand and clasped in front of his chest. Gently, he stroked the top of her hand through the white lace of her glove, small flecks of pink shining through the holes in the intricate designs. Her brand. These were the very same flecks that made her fear marrying into a royal family, for she knew not what disaster and scandal might hide behind the ominous mark. Chrom, Lissa and Frederick were the only ones who knew of it, having been there for her awakening in the field. And they knew, as most everyone did, that not just any family passed brands through its descendants. Prominent ones did.

Robin hated to think what the court would've done had they known _that_ particular detail in addition to all the other objections they'd had against her.

"Aren't you nervous at all?" Robin asked. Her worry had been calmed by laughter, but she had to wonder whether he could feel the same seed of doubt being sown by him as she did as she thought worrisome thoughts of the court.

"For the ceremony?" asked Chrom, releasing her hand slightly. His eyebrows furrowed as they often did, revealing his confusion at her sudden question. "Of course I am."

"No, for what comes after. For being king, for being married." Robin's voice had quieted down as her eyes drifted away from Chrom's, deep in thought.

"No. The way I see it..." Chrom took a moment to think over his answer. How would he explain this near total lack of worry for the years to come? What was it that was making his only concern that day making it through the ceremony without making a fool of himself?

Perhaps the answer lay therein: "a fool of himself." He was, and almost always had been, more suited to dealing with soldiers, to living life in a caravan. He felt more confident as a commander than a king, more natural wielding a sword than a scepter. He worried, despite his confidence in his ability to rule, that during such grand occasions as this, he would stick out like a sore thumb.

But when it came to being king, as Robin had asked, he felt more sure of himself. He would be making decisions on behalf of a group – a nation – and it wasn't as though he hadn't had experience with that before.

"The way I see it , this will be like leading the Shepherds, just on a larger scale," he answered Robin's question.

"How is this at all like leading the Shepherds?" she asked. She pulled her hands back and scrunched her face up, evidently thrown off by such an answer. She couldn't wait to hear how he would explain this to her, partially because she wanted to feel that way as well.

"Well... it's the two of us. You and me leading our people, _strategizing_ and planning to ensure they're happy and safe," answered the prince. It wasn't lost on Robin how he placed extra emphasis on the word strategizing. "I'm not nervous about being king because I know I'll at least have you at my side, just like always. And I'm not nervous about being married because, well... for the same reason. I love you, Robin."

Robin smiled at his words, touched and being reminded of why it was she was marrying this man: They were a team, and she never would want it to be any other way. She _couldn't bring_ herself to imagine it any other way. "I love you too. And now you've actually made me a bit excited for ruling!"

The thought that sovereigns and tacticians shared similarities never occurred to Robin. In fact, she was almost ashamed that in her fretting and planning she'd forgotten to calm her mind with some critical thinking. What kind of tactician was she to look at a population and see only a chaotic mass of people rather than a group to be guided? The laws she and Chrom could make... what were they if not strategies, plans for helping the people and keeping Ylisse a proud nation?

Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.

Chrom let out a laugh at her newfound excitement, smiling and glad to see her doing the same. "I know you well."

"You do. Better than anyone."

The two of them leaned in closer to one another, resting their foreheads together and clasping their hands between them. Robin settled into his grasp, a contented sigh breathed through her lips as she felt all the tension in her muscles leave her. The feeling of his hands around hers, of his face so close, this feeling of safety... it was all still relatively new for the both of them, but Robin could see herself getting very used to a feeling like this. Why, if she had the choice, she would have stayed with him all day just like that.

 _I never want to let you go, Robin. Does that make me selfish?_ She could still hear the words of his proposal from those many weeks ago, their meaning feeling more potent than ever now that she stood in his arms.

 _If so, then let me be selfish, too. I would be with you, always._

But alas, there was an equally exciting and important event coming. True, it would pull the two away from one another for a couple hours, but it would ensure that their wish to be forever at each other's sides would be fulfilled.

"Milord, the sages are prepared to begin." The voice pulled Chrom and Robin out of their trance. Frederick had reappeared behind them, and the wedding was evidently about to begin. Both of them wanted to beg for another minute together, but both were held back by the anticipation of the ceremony to come.

With the hesitation of unwillingness, Chrom slowly lowered his and Robin's hands and separated them. Suddenly, his gloves felt colder.

"Alright," he said over his shoulder, letting the knight know he'd heard him. However, his eyes quickly returned to his bride thereafter. Though the distance between them was greater now, their hands seemed to gravitate back towards one another, longing for one another's touch once more. Chrom tried to drink in the sight of the woman in front of him, a beautiful figure of white with those brown eyes of hers glowing above a smile and standing out like never before. Those eyes, those familiar, piercing eyes... It took everything in him to drag himself away from them rather than move closer.

"We'll see each other on the altar, then," he whispered, ending with a gentle smile that betrayed all his excitement. Robin mirrored it and tightened her grip around his fingers.

"Yes," she replied. "We will."

Slowly the two pulled away from one another as Chrom left down the hallway, releasing their hands from one another only when they couldn't stretch their arms any farther as the distance between them grew.

When Chrom had definitely disappeared, his footsteps no longer able to be heard, Robin let out a happy sigh. With a humor tainted by nerves, she turned to face Frederick, who stood still at attention near the glass doors to the sanctuary.

"Is this how you pictured things playing out when we met?" she asked teasingly. She could still remember how against her joining the Shepherds he'd been, how Chrom could so rarely find a minute away from his protective gaze whenever Robin was around... And now here they stood, Frederick waiting to walk the very vagabond he'd felt so unsure of down the aisle – to marry the man he'd tried to protect from her, no less. How far they'd come.

"Not immediately, but it certainly became a concern of mine over time," he answered in his usual muted tone. He held out an arm, now covered only by light and fine armor rather than his full gear, and Robin looped her own through it. "It wasn't difficult to see how milord took an instant liking to you."

Robin thought back on her time with Chrom, and realized it was true that things had seemed rather... easy with him. She'd never had to work particularly hard to gain his approval or trust. Or attention. All that he granted her almost immediately. A memory of a moment in her first few days with Chrom's party came to mind, early in the morning on the back of a stream – the first time she and Chrom had ever been alone. Even then, when they barely knew each other, there was a connection. Instantly, as though they'd been searching or waiting for one another. Yes, perhaps there was something of an instant liking. Perhaps Frederick's wariness hadn't been so unwarranted after all!

"And what kind of guard would you have been if you didn't worry about him marrying the mysterious amnesiac, right Frederick the Wary?" She looked out at the inner hall of the cathedral, the walls a blue and white mosaic of large stones, the floors covered by pews and people. She snuck a glace at Frederick with a smirk, mostly just to get her eyes off the very intimidating scene before her.

"Haha. Precisely."

His reply somehow left a bitter feeling in her stomach. Of course, she understood the answer – even agreed. But she longed to hear something friendly and encouraging. Though she knew that wasn't quite Frederick's style. The fact that he agreed happily to walk her down the aisle – usually executed in royal weddings by the foreign king giving away his princess – spoke enough to the fact that he had come to trust her too.

The sound of trumpets blaring and a choir beginning to sing alongside violins violently grabbed Robin's attention. The Ylissean anthem began playing loud as the whole crowd within the hall stood up. Suddenly, the situation became very real as it stared her in the face, and all her nervousness seemed to explode in her chest.

She normally hated to show such weak anxiety, especially in front of others, but as all the work she'd done to calm herself down came undone she just couldn't hide it. Her chest tightened as she gently took in a few gasps of breath with widened eyes. She saw Chrom take his place on the altar right in front of the crown he'd be made king with. He looked so regal, so sure of himself... What had she been thinking, thinking she was worthy of marrying into a family like his?

Before her anxious thoughts had a chance to run too far away from reason, Frederick spoke up, keeping his baritone voice as calm as possible. "You have nothing to fear, milady. I'm confident you'll make a fine queen, one to be honored and respected. And you'll make an even finer wife."

To hear such a sentiment come from Frederick was enough of a shock to get her attention. She looked up at him, touched that he would say such a thing and even moreso that he believed it.

"I suppose my wariness will need to find its end."

With his small, rare smile from him, Robin realized she really had earned his trust, and more impressively his faith. Perhaps it was silly, but she thought if she could win Frederick over, there was no one she couldn't gain the trust of.

"Haha! Yes, it will take some getting used to, won't it?" Robin jested as she used her newfound courage to face the sanctuary once more. The music was coming to an end, and the crowd began to sit down. "For both of us. Frederick the Unwary and _Queen_ Robin, serving under _King_ Chrom."

" _Ladies and gentlemen of Ylisse!"_ The newly appointed church hierarch began to speak in a booming voice, commencing the ceremony. _"Bear witness today to the writing of history."_

"I think we'll survive," replied Frederick.

" _Under the eyes of Naga shall her next ancestor be crowned in exaltation as king and guardian of her blessed realm."_

"Thank you, Frederick." Robin watch the scene through the glass doors unfold. Chrom knelt on his knees before the hierarch, and she let herself smile. Her heart felt much lighter now. "Freddy Bear."

"Stop."

" _But truly is there no greater blessing in the eyes of the gods than the blessings of constancy, fidelity, and above all_ love, _bound together as one in holy matrimony."_

Robin took one last deep breath, knowing her queue was coming to enter. She took her eyes off Chrom for a moment to gaze through the crowd. She could see only the backs of heads across the sea of nobles in the pews, but to the sides she saw the Shepherds. Spaced in intervals along the sides and used as guards of sorts, it was clear they tried to look proper with their backs straight and their arms stiff with their hands folded at the bases of their backs. They tried to look like soldiers, but their faces were betraying them all.

Half of them looked excitedly at Chrom – Vaike even let out a silent snicker as his old sparring mate was about to become king – and the other half were anxiously craning their necks to the back, waiting on Robin to enter. The tactician had her eyes caught by Nowi, who excitedly waved at her with a big smile Robin couldn't help but return.

" _Would everyone do our future queen the honor of rising?"_

Shuffling sounds came from the crowd as they stood. All eyes turned towards her, but she didn't shrink or scare under them. Two young priests opened the glass doors wide in front of her.

"Unto the breach," Frederick murmured quietly to the bride.

She replied with a confident smile, and she took her first step. Towards the altar, towards becoming queen, and towards becoming a wife. Towards Chrom, who had stood to face her and whose face reminded her of everything she loved in this world.

She looked ahead, she looked at him, she held a bit tighter to Frederick's arm and saw the Shepherds' smiles in her peripheral, and all her doubts and fears disappeared once and for all.

This would, in the future, be referenced as the happiest day of her life.

* * *

 **Little call back to what Frederick told Chrom at the beginning of the chapter there in that last line. Don't know if that's able to be caught. Also the reference to my first chapter, which I'd been feeling hadn't quite been fitting in with the rest.**

 **I mentioned in one of the Emmeryn chapters that I always saw Frederick as more of a semi-father figure in the Ylissean palace, especially for Lissa. I tried to extend that dynamic of friendship and kind of.. authority? Respect? Idk. In any case, father-in-law-ness to Robin.**

 **Also did I mention romance was not my forte?**


	16. Training

**So this is set just before Valm comes. Just a quick little scene that will fill some of that time gap.**

* * *

 **Training**

The moment Chrom walked onto the training grounds it started a wave. First, the Shepherds closest to the door saw him in their peripheral, lowering their swords to greet him for the first time in months. Then those next to them wanted to see what their allies were getting so excited about. Before he knew it, Chrom was the center of the whole camp's attention and the subject of every excited call.

"Chrom!"

"Chrom's back!"

"Look! It's the captain!"

He smiled graciously and bowed his head a bit in embarrassment as he became flooded with greetings, handshakes, and pats on the back. He hadn't expected such a scene! After all, it had only been... was it nine months already since he'd visited the garrison for training? Somehow the time of his wife's pregnancy had seemed to fly by in a blur.

Vaike grabbed and tousled his shoulder from his right side as the chatter in the camp grew louder.

"Back up an' at 'em, eh?" the fighter near yelled, jostling his old sparring partner side to side. "Couldn't wait to get back to some one-on-one with ol' Teach, couldja?"

Chrom laughed, having missed the feeling of being irked by his old friend."Loathe as I am to admit it..."

"Hey, Chrom!" Stahl interrupted with a curt wave and a smile as he passed by. "Good to have you back. And congratulations on becoming a father!"

"Thank you. It feels good to be back, Stahl." And it did. He had been ecstatic at the birth of Lucina, and truth be told he didn't quite want to leave her side. However, now he was glad he'd taken his sister's suggestion to get some fresh air outside of the palace. The sounds of clashing blades, a yell here and there, the heat and the energy and the feeling of belonging – in his place as commander and in his place among his friends as an equal – were all things he'd dearly missed as he'd been holed up inside.

After being crowned king, he began finding it more and more difficult to find time to visit the garrison. Between the post-war negotiations and getting Ylisse up on its feet again, he'd been practically buried in proposals to read and treaties to sign. And this was all before finding out Robin was finally with child.

After more than a year of worrying and trying every variety of fertility treatments, Libra – whose assistance Robin had insisted on, saying she wouldn't have trusted anyone else – had finally been able to tell them they would be having a baby, at last. The whole pregnancy was handled with the utmost care, and the queen had been fussed over to no end; The possibility of a miscarriage seemed too large considering the difficulties she'd faced before. Every second that Chrom wasn't dealing with his duties as king he tried to spend by his wife's side, ensuring she was comfortable and happy – a task which became a fool's errand on her worst days.

That was nine months ago. As his lieutenant and second-in-command, he'd put Frederick in charge of handling the Shepherds in his absence, and he hadn't been back until now.

Speaking of the knight...

"How fares Lady Robin, milord?" Frederick appeared by his side, his large armored figure filling Chrom with a sense of familiarity. His face was lighter than its usual no-nonsense appearance; he looked genuinely pleased to be hearing from his liege and friend again.

Though before Chrom had a chance to answer, a more feminine voice popped up behind him and took his chance.

"She's doing great, Frederick. Thank you for asking!"

Chrom whipped around, knowing at once who the voice belonged to. "Robin?" The Shepherds echoed her name behind him, much as they had when he had entered. His wife stood in front of him, that defiant smile on her face that her husband had come to simultaneously love and dread. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be resting!"

"I've rested," she replied simply as she draw a practice sword out of the bin next to her.

"For longer than a week!"

"Chrom, please. I became a mother, not an invalid." She looked him in the eyes with a look that made him unsure if she was teasing him or challenging him. "I need to be here just as much as you do."

"But-"

"The only way I'm going back to that castle before training is with a sword in my hand and a dummy in the courtyard."

Chrom couldn't come up with any words to shoot back. He knew her stubbornness was capable of challenging even his own, and all he could think was gods help them if their little girl inherited even a fraction of her parents' strong wills.

"Bwehehe!" sounded a familiar thundering laugh from mere feet away. Gregor was sparring against Lon'qu and had stopped to throw his two cents in to the argument. "Man has will and woman has way!"

Both Chrom and Robin shook their heads with smiles; it was impossible not to miss Gregor and his words of wisdom.

With a sigh and Gregor's words echoing in his head, Chrom conceded. "You're going to be the reason my hair turns gray so early," he told Robin with a coy smile.

Robin smiled as she joyfully tightened her grip on her practice sword. She reached forward to squeeze her husband's arm, flipping her white hair to the side to make her point: "Then we'll be twins!"

"Robin!" Came another voice in greeting as Sully approached them, sweat on her forehead and a lance in her arms. "Good to have ya back."

"Sully! Just the woman I wanted to see," replied Robin, grabbing her friend by the hand and pulling her into a quick hug. "It's good to see you again."

Robin turned around her shoulder and nodded to Chrom to signify she was leaving and they'd see each other later. She placed an arm around Sully's shoulder as she lead her into the training area.

"Why don't we start that weight-loss program of ours back up? Just the old-fashioned way this time; no strange plants or herbs," Chrom heard his wife ask as the two women retreated.

"Haha! That baby weight isn't gonna lose itself, huh?"

* * *

Chrom was allotted only a moment to worry about Robin before being approached once more and dragged into the action of the camp himself. From over his shoulder, he heard the same rough voice that had always sent his gears grinding.

"Come on. You know you've been dyin' to go up against Teach again!"

With a deep breath, Chrom prepared himself mentally for going up against his 'rival'. Though he couldn't keep a small smile from breaking out on his lips; it felt good to be back.

Chrom agreed to their sparring match willingly, choosing this time not to cite Lissa's worry or the fact that they needed to stay sharp by battling others once in a while, taking Vaike by surprise.

"Well, without your head all full of steam, it's too easy for me to beat ya!" Vaike taunted the captain when he offered to yell or resist fighting for old time's sake.

"You wish that were true, don't you?" Chrom shot back gladly, drawing Falchion from its sheath. "You've not beaten me once, clearheaded or no."

"Hey, I'm just sayin' you've been gone a while," Vaike mused, the bait in his statement clearly forthcoming. "You've gotten old,... 'Papa."

"Stop that."

"You went and got all domestic and royal on us. It's a wonder you can still lift your sword!"

"Oh, I can do more than just lift it!" Chrom swung his sword and took his beginning stance. He was glad to see his muscles still slid into it naturally.

"Aw, ain't that cute! Look at 'im, trying to show off his little muscles!"

"Draw your axe, Vaike!"

"Yeah! Now we're talking!" Vaike pulled his axe off his back, sticking his tongue out as he wound his arm up. Chrom prepared himself, determined not to let this be the first time he lost to the fighter. His muscles tingled with anticipation, ready and willing to swing a sword once more.

"Hyaaaah!"

Yes, it was good to back.

* * *

 **Thought a short chapter would be nice after all those big ones I've written recently.**

 **Also who else knew that Falchion was pronounced fal-chuhn? I sure as hell didn't.**


	17. You deserved better from me

**This gets pretty "by the game", but I was always really disappointed between Lucina and her mother's first meeting.**

* * *

 **You deserved better from me than one sword**

"... My daughter..."

"Yes, Robin. Your daughter."

Lucina had known convincing her mother of her identity would be the hard part. At no point in her life had she known her to be anything but a believer in reason; religion had never been a large part of her life, world-renowned fortune tellers were written off when they offered their services to the royal family, and there was certainly no such thing as destiny. All this because such things couldn't be proven or backed by solid reasoning or research.

And yet here stood Lucina, telling her that she had traveled back in time with the help of a god. She waited with bated breath for a response, standing still under her mother's scrutinizing gaze. Her pursed lips, her furrowed brow... After more than three years away from her, she found she had forgotten such things, but it all came rushing back to her now. Her mother sitting on the other side of a chessboard, the same look on her face as she calculated her next move, her daughter feeling a growing sense that she was about to lose once more, the sound of a bishop being lifted and moved and her mother's voice:

" _Check."_

Lucina didn't know how much longer she could bear her mother's voice speaking to her with such a lack of familiarity. She so desperately wanted Robin to like her...

"You've grown into such a strong and beautiful woman," said Robin after after a deep breath. She still sounded only halfway present. "Chrom and I are truly blessed."

Lucina's heart leaped in her chest. Was Robin starting to believe her?

"Thank you," she replied, trying to keep her voice calm. Her mother stayed so still, almost unnervingly so. "...milady." She threw the last word in clumsily, hoping she hadn't offended anyone with her lack of formality. Robin hadn't given her any indication yet of just how she wanted her relationship with her daughter to be...

Just as Chrom took in a breath to speak in his daughter's defense, a short, clean laugh came from Robin's lips as she finally smiled and shed a layer of the uncertainty she'd been wearing.

"Will you not call me Mother?" Her mother's laugh was another thing that Lucina hadn't realized she'd forgotten until now. It comfortably rushed back to her, like hearing a song you loved but had forgotten the words to.

"I... thought you might mind."

All she wanted was something, _anything_ to give her a sign that Robin really saw her, really wanted her as a daughter. Something to give her the okay to rush into her arms. Her father's apology to her when she told him who she was had come as a great relief, having been struggling to hold herself back. She was finding herself looking for something similar now.

"Of course not!" replied Robin. Lucina's heart beat a bit faster. "I love you with all my heart."

And there it was. All she'd needed to hear. All she'd wanted to hear again for three years. Her mother saw her for who she was, and now it meant the most to hear her say she loved her.

Lucina felt tears brimming in her eyes again. "Oh, Mother..."

She took a step towards her mother, tentatively so as to judge her reaction. When Robin took a step towards her too, a calming smile on her face, Lucina could hold herself back no longer.

" _Come here, darling,"_ the smile seemed to say, just as it had so many times in the past. _"Everything will be alright. I'm here."_

Her arms were lighter than her father's. They didn't squeeze her shoulders as tightly when she ran into them, but rather wrapped gently around her waist as her tears began to fall. She felt a head rest against her own as she rested her cheek on a familiar purple cloak.

"You are the finest daughter a woman could hope for, Lucina."

Her words were touching and a joy to hear, but they meant so much less to Lucina than the arms holding her close. This was what she'd wanted since seeing them for the first time in this world, and since seeing them for the last in her own.

"Mother..." She had been so lonely. She had worn her tiara atop her head and Falchion at her side and pretended these gifts from her parents really were their presence staying with her. But those small reminders of them were nothing in comparison to seeing their faces and hearing them say her true name once more. "I've missed you more than you'll ever know."

"I am so sorry I left you to face that hell on your own," her mother whispered with sorrow. "You deserved better from me."

It had truly been hell on earth when her parents left, and she spent many nights wishing they could come back and help her. But above all else, all she wanted through those terrible nights was to see their faces once more.

"Just seeing you now is more than enough."

Before she knew it, another set of arms had taken her and her mother into a hug. Her father stood at her back and pulled the family together.

How she had missed the strength in their arms, the kindness in her father's eyes, the wisdom in her mother's voice. She never dreamed she'd see them again, and when she did, she thought speaking with them as she had would remain a pipe dream for as long as she was in this world. Being wrapped in their arms like this, feeling so safe and whole again... only in her most childish dreams would she have imagined she could have her family back like this. Now only one person was missing...

 _Oh, Morgan,_ thought Lucina as she tightened her grip on her mother. _You'd be so happy to see them like this. Didn't we dream about moments like this together? We never thought they would be possible._

And yet there they stood, the three of them together as the sun rose. The longer she stayed, the more real it became to her, and the more real it became, the more she longed to never let it go again.

* * *

 **Took some stuff from the Future Past DLC (damn good material in there) there at the end. Also the tiara thingy from the Drama CD ;)**


	18. The Vaike never forgets!

**Phew! Finally got this mother done. The last shipping fluff crap for Gen 1 before the children start coming into play. Sorry this took so long to get out. The main ship of this chapter isn't one I'm super passionate about, so while writing I got easily distracted by YouTube.**

 **Ah well. Without further ado:**

* * *

 **The Vaike never forgets! I just don't always remember.**

Lissa, Cherche, and Vaike sat around a wooden crate turned into a table on the edge of their makeshift camp, Chrom standing behind his sister's shoulder with his arms crossed as the four of them took their afternoon break. The setup was less than ideal, but Port Ferox had been all but completely destroyed. The army still needed _somewhere_ to stay and train while they awaited the Plegian ships.

"You two knuckleheads are both so competitive-" Lissa complained as she had her mouth stuffed full of rice, the day's lunch. Even in times of desperation where food was simple, Lissa never seemed to eat less than her fair share. And the shares of a few others.

"What'd we talk about, Squirt? C'mon," Vaike interrupted, a mildly disappointed look on his face. "Either _eat_ or _talk._ "

The princess continued without hesitation. "-You don't even realize you're each other's _best. Friends!"_ She gestured with her spoon between Vaike and her brother as her cheeks puffed out and words became muffled. It was clear Cherche was trying to hold back an unpleasant reaction.

"It's like I told our girl Cherche here, right?" Vaike grabbed the maid by the shoulder and jostled her back and forth. She smiled, though looked taken aback nonetheless. Her hands remained clasped in her lap. "It's just mutual respect! Mutual respect when ya fight a guy! Am I right, Chrom?"

Lissa seemed unamused by the answer as a frown appeared on her face. Vaike's rival himself had little time to reply before being interrupted by a new voice.

"I hate to interrupt the fun," the group heard a tired voice say from behind them. Turning towards the main part of the camp in town, they laid eyes on Robin approaching them, leaving the bustling soldiers behind her. Bags mirroring those of the other soldiers were under her eyes, and her eyes blinked heavily as she rested her hands on the table next to Lissa and Chrom. "But would _anyone_ care to tell me why Olivia has been hiding behind Frederick's back since this morning?"

Vaike let out a chortle as he rested his elbows on the table. "Probably something to do with Frederick's little 'questionnaire' last night," he said with a flourish at the end. Robin's eyebrows raised with wariness.

"What questionnaire?" she asked. From beside her, Chrom's blue eyes tried to catch Vaike's, silently trying to warn him to stop talking.

A plea that, unfortunately, went unnoticed.

"You know, where he asked all us guys what we think of Olivia. 'As a woman." Vaike dropped his voice and steeled his face in a spot-on impression of the Shepherd's lieutenant and royal knight. Lissa let out a small laugh.

"Vaike..." Chrom groaned quietly. That man never did know when to keep his mouth shut about things, did he?

"Really?" Robin asked, pointedly turning to her husband with an expectant expression. "This is the first I'm hearing about this."

"Yes... Well..." Chrom cleared his throat, his eyes trying desperately to hold contact, and failing under the pressure of three women's expectant gazes. Of course he hadn't replied to Frederick's question with anything improper! He'd never found himself capable of speaking quite as... zealously about the women in camp as the other men seemed to do. "I just thought it best not to spread the word. You're forgetting I've been a victim of Frederick's over-enthusiasm myself! It's embarrassing to say the least."

Robin laughed, remembering a certain poster that had found its way into her tent many years ago. And the prince who stormed in – red-faced and refusing to make eye contact – to rip it down. "Oh, I haven't forgotten just yet."

Lissa made a sour face as she withdrew her spoon from her mouth which was now full of rice once more. "Hello! Eating!"

"What was this?" asked Cherche, a bit lost as the other four went on about a time long before she'd joined them.

"It was nothing, Cherche," Lissa replied shortly.

"Well I guess..." Robin continued, attempting to get back to the point. What was she to do with Olivia? "I guess could you all do me a favor and pretend you don't see her? If she needs to hide from the embarrassment, let her. I'm sure it'll pass in a day or two."

"Plus, Frederick doesn't seem to be minding," Cherche piped in with a smile. She was right... The knight had been much more even-keeled for the past few days.

"He _has_ been in a particularly good mood," mused Chrom, with a glace toward his guardian. Behind a mass of armor, they could all see flecks of pink hair and bits of a white scarf sticking out from behind his back. Olivia was clearly not very well hidden, but her company must've been doing Frederick some good. "Well... at least by his standards."

"Ha! We should be tryin' to keep her back there if that's the case." Vaike let out a loud chuckle before pointing at Chrom. "Hey Chrom, go talk to Frederick about her hips again! That oughtta do it!"

All at once, the young lord's face turned a shade of red. In a mixture of anger and embarrassment, he sputtered, "What are you talking about? I didn't-!"

Robin and Cherche, in contrast, both began to laugh at the poor prince's expense. Only Lissa was left sitting with a faked smile on her face.

"Vaike," Robin began in a light, chastising tone. "Don't be lewd. You-..."

Suddenly, her voice drifted off along with her smile as a look appeared on her face as though she were having a large realization. She repeated his name once, twice, before gasping and remembering what had been on the tip of her tongue. "You were supposed to meet Lon'qu for sword training at noon! How could you have forgotten that?"

"Hey!" Vaike jumped to his own defense, though shrinking under the tactician's gaze ever-so-slightly. "The Vaike never forgets! I just-"

"-don't always remember.' I know. Get up. Go!" Robin nudged the man up by his shoulder armor, visibly trying to refrain from smacking him a bit harder. Up he went and made his way to the center of camp to receive his lessons, albeit fifteen to twenty minutes late. "…You big oaf."

The four of the remaining Shepherds on break watched their friend leave, disappearing into the crowd of soldiers before Robin redirected her attention to Cherche. She smiled at the newcomer, hoping the woman was feeling welcome among them. "Cherche, I hope they're making you feel welcome here."

"Oh, yes, milady," the woman replied kindly. "Lord Virion has kept me in good company, and Vaike has held out a hand to me. Not to mention Lady Lissa and Lord Chrom."

Without hesitation, the two siblings jumped to correct her, echoing the words they must've said a thousand times before as though by reflex.

"Just Lissa."

"Just Chrom is fine."

The prince held up a hand politely with his answer, though Lissa wasn't quite so friendly. She seemed more annoyed than usual, her tone catching her brother off guard. His stomach began to sink, wondering just what it was that had his sister putting on her sour behavior this time.

"Well, that's good to hear," Robin replied, glad to hear their newest member was integrating nicely.

"If you'll pardon me, I need to be getting to the stables." Cherche stood up with a polite smile from the crate she'd been sitting on, gracefully pushing it back and picking up the axe she'd had leaned against her stool. "It's about time for Minerva's lunch."

The group bid Cherche goodbye before Chrom excused himself as well.

"I should be off too," he said, clasping Lissa's shoulders. From in front of him, the girl's face turned annoyed at the touch. "I have council with Frederick. And Olivia, I suppose."

Discreetly, Chrom caught his wife's eyes, gesturing with his head to Lissa. Robin nodded in understanding; she would be in charge of finding out what was wrong.

"Okay," Robin replied, showing no outward signs of the silent communication she'd just had. "I'll catch up with you after I make the rounds."

Chrom made his leave, though in a last ditch effort to cheer up his younger sister placed a hand on her head, rubbing her headpiece back and forth before lightly tugging on a pigtail as he left.

"Hey!" Lissa whined after him, a frown on her face as she raised an offended hand to her hairdo.

Slowly, Robin took a seat near Lissa at the table, watching as the girl calmed down and finished her bowl of rice.

"What's the matter Lissa?" she asked after a moment, her voice gentle but firm. "You're not quite yourself today. You didn't even laugh when Vaike teased Chrom! You normally love that!"

Upon receiving no response but lowered eyes and the scraping of Lissa's spoon in her bowl as she fiddled with her dishes, Robin pried further. "Is it because of how they talked about Olivia?"

"No..." replied Lissa quietly. "Though that wasn't so great either."

"Is it Frederick? Are you jealous he's spending more time with Olivia and not you? I know you had those relaxing sessions going with him."

"Well, I am now!" Lissa whined, her shoulders slumping as her face became even more irritated and upset.

"Lissa, I'm just trying to help!" Robin pleaded with the girl. She hadn't intended to make things worse, though that seemed to be all she was doing. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I just hate to see you so down."

Lissa seemed to think her reply over for a long moment, her eyes rolling back and forth as she mulled over the option of staying silent. When she finally decided to speak, her voice was hushed and her eyes downcast. "I... I don't like Cherche."

Robin was a bit taken aback. She thought they'd been getting along! "Why not? Has she been unkind to you?" The new maid seemed to be on perfectly civil terms with Lissa a moment ago. Why, if she'd been trying to tyrannize the poor girl while no one was looking... Perhaps Sully could be recruited to keep an eye on Cherche. And to put the fear of the gods in her. _That_ would teach her to mess with Lissa!

"No," Lissa replied, settling Robin's heart and negating the rapidly-building worries in her mind. The young girl continued, her voice growing more and more annoyed. "She's just so... _foreign_ and she walks around on her _legs_ like she's soooo amazing and so interesting and 'Vaike just loved riding on Minerva!' 'Vaike and I have so much fun together, Lady Lissa!' You know, I've asked her to stop calling me that before and-"

"It's about Vaike." Robin smiled as it finally dawned on her just what was spurring this sour streak in her sister-in-law. "You're jealous."

"No!" Lissa denied defensively. Her hands gripped the sides of her rice bowl tighter as she lowered her eyebrows, her stubborn look reminiscent of her brother's.

"Yes," Robin contradicted, a knowing smile growing on her face. "I've seen you two. I've seen _you_."

She'd always seen Vaike and Lissa bickering like siblings and felt a dynamic of the same type with them. However, the times Lissa had blushed when Vaike rubbed her head or joked with her, the times she'd watched him intently during his sparring matches hadn't gone unnoticed to the tactician ether.

"Is it that obvious?" Lissa asked miserably, her voice quiet as her body sank lower in its seat.

"Probably not," replied Robin reassuringly. "It's just my job to observe you all, so I've known for a long while you've had a crush on him."

"Shh!" Lissa waved her hands toward Robin to quiet her down, not keen on the entire camp hearing her situation. "Not that long. Just... well, when I was a kid, he was always so big and strong and loud and... he was different from all the other boys I knew. But we're really good friends now, and I can see he's really nice, Robin!" she continued. "And so considerate, and he's got such a big heart! He gets me…"

Robin waited patiently as Lissa seemed to get lost in her own thoughts. She smiled gently at Lissa's expression, but as it began to turn sad, Robin's smile disappeared as well.

"How did you get Chrom to like you?" Lissa finally asked, her voice curious with a twinge of sadness.

How should one answer a question like that? Especially when they did nothing in particular to attract the one they loved but let time run its course? "Well..."

"Nevermind, he was in love with you first," Lissa discounted her question, thinking her brother would've been the one to have pursued Robin, not vice versa. Annoyedly, she added, "Big... doofy idiot couldn't pick up on a sign if it hit him in the head anyway."

"Lissa... There's no way to make someone like you," Robin said gently, shrugging her shoulders. "Especially not someone every bit as dense as Chrom! You just need to be yourself, like _both_ Chrom and I did. And if that fails, then all that's left to do is summon up your courage and tell him how you feel."

"That's his job, though!" Lissa burst out. She was careful to keep her voice down, but the light slam of her bowl on the table made it clear she was growing more frustrated. "He should be the one to tell _me_ he likes me! When Chrom liked you, that's what he told me was that _he_ had to tell _you_ , because that's what a gentleman does!"

Despite Lissa's clear frustration, Robin couldn't help but smile. Though as nice as it was to hear such an anecdote from before Chrom had proposed to her, that wasn't where her smile came from. In truth, she was merely glad to see that Lissa had had a good man to look up to. At the same time, she was glad this man happened would be the male role model for her daughter as well.

"It's not fair," Lissa whispered, bringing Robin back to reality. Evidently, she'd not seen Robin smiling or simply hadn't cared. Regardless the sound of her utterly heartsick tone took the smile right out from under Robin's nose. "I want him to like me back."

"I know. But you're a strong, funny, beautiful y-... woman, Lissa," Robin replied, stopping herself short before calling her a 'young lady.' Lissa wasn't a little girl anymore. The carefree girl who'd greeted her in the field had lived through two years of harrowing experiences, and now she was in love. She still had the same essence of sweetness and humor about her, but there was no doubting she'd matured.

"And you know what? I've heard the way Vaike talks about you too. I'd bet the royal treasury he feels the same; it just takes a while to pull thoughts and feelings out of such a thick head. Be patient." Robin gave a sideways smile and placed a reassuring hand on Lissa's shoulder, though the girl didn't seem too convinced.

"I'll tell you what," Robin began with resolve, a plan already forming in her mind. "What would you say to me rearranging the partners for the next battle, hm?"

That immediately got Lissa's attention. Her head snapped up with worry as she began to fret, "I don't want it to be too obvi-"

"I'm not promising anything!" Robin interrupted, maintaining the act of being aloof. She knew better than to think Lissa would outright _ask_ to be paired with Vaike – or for him to be separated from Cherche – so hearing it come from the tactician instead would be best. "But... it does seem to be a bit overkill, doesn't it? Two axe wielders and a wyvern all together? I think Cherche would be much better off with someone like Lon'qu to keep things balanced out. And who does that leave to protect you...?"

Robin feigned contemplation as she looked her sister-in-law up and down. Lissa evidently liked the idea, and was thankful for having her dignity spared through not having to request the change herself. She slid over from her chair over to Robin's and place her arms around the woman's neck.

"Thank you, Robin," she said as she placed a small kiss on her cheek."You know, Lucina's really lucky to have you as a mom; you're gonna be great once she gets older! Or... now, I guess."

Robin blushed and thanked Lissa in return. She certainly hoped what she was saying was true!

As Lissa stood to make her way back to camp, she added on one more thing: "Oh and Robin? Please don't tell Chrom, yeah? You know he'd rip Vaike's head straight off!"

Robin laughed as she joined Lissa at her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Oh, I know. Your secret's safe with me."

Though she knew Lissa was over-exaggerating, she knew she had a point. Chrom already was put on edge when Lissa teased or flirted with the other boys or went on about how attractive one man or another was. She could only imagine how he'd react to hearing on such man wanted to take his little sister from him.

 _Gods be with the poor boy Lucina falls in love with. He's already so protective of Lissa; the one to take his daughter will be chopped to bloody bits._

* * *

 **Well. There it was. Idk how I manage to crank out 3k words on the chapters I feel most blah about. And this was _with_ stuff cut out.**

 **Vaike x Lissa makes the most sense to me from an Owain standpoint, what with self-proclaiming rivals and third person speak and whatnot c(: Even if MaleRobin!Owain wil forever be my canon.**


	19. Don't you put any stock in

**One of my favorite songs and moments :) Oddly enough, one of my shortest chapters, though.**

* * *

 **Don't you put any stock in this destiny hogwash!**

The second Lucina jumped to the deck of the safety ship, she'd fallen to her belly and heard the sound of waves suddenly drowned out by an explosion that seemed to come from all around. Tentatively, she released her arms from around her head and slowly opened her eyes, sitting up to see...

An entire sea ablaze. The entire Valmese fleet was burning to a crisp!

"It worked!" Frederick exclaimed with shock and relief from nearby. "It actually worked!"

The other Shepherds cheered, some even laughing with relief. Khan Flavia placed an arm on Robin's shoulder, praising her work. Severa, who had been found just before they set sail from Port Ferox, extended a hand to Lucina to help her stand. Lucina took it gratefully, but she couldn't draw her eyes from her parents as they reveled in their victory at the gunwale.

"Jeez," Severa commented, lost in the sights around her as well. "Who knew your mom was such a maniac?"

The words took Lucina by surprise, but Severa was right – her mother was a maniac, but an absolutely brilliant one. She'd heard this before from others, but to see with her own eyes the results of her mother's mind at work... Well, she could understand a bit more why Morgan found tactics so compelling. Before she had a chance to voice this thought, though, Stahl approached to check on his daughter. Lucina took this as her window to approach her father at his side. From behind him, Basilio's booming voice complained of the smoke filling the air.

"Full speed for Valm!" Chrom commanded a soldier waiting near him, who promptly ran off towards the bridge, leaving Lucina a place at his side.

"Father!" She exclaimed with a smile, excitedly clasping the rim of the ship next to him. "I can't believe you and Mother did this! This is incredible! I mean, I had heard about this day before..."

In Lucina's future, this battle had been merely partially victorious. The war in Plegia had continued for so much longer than it had in this timeline; therefore, their resources had been dwindled to almost nothing, ships and oil included. The Ylissean fleet could only be offered far less, and they were only able to wipe out a portion of the Valmese ships. The rest had had to be fought off man-to-man, resulting in many more casualties.

"But _this_..." She couldn't even find the words. All of the war Lucina had experienced had been desperate chaos, and most of all it had been overwhelming losses. A victory like this – especially one in a fight they were destined to barely make it out of – gave her such a feeling of pride and hope like she'd never before had the pleasure of feeling. She'd calmed herself down and tried to match the stoicism on the four adults' faces around her, but inside she felt positively exhilarated.

"Haha, the credit goes all to your mother," Chrom replied, a smirk growing on his face as he turned to his wife. "Let's just hope she keeps this up when we dock in Valm!"

Robin chuckled, her eyes still taking in her victory laid out before her. "You know I will," she said, too lost in thought to worry about the (well-warranted) arrogance in her words.

Lucina was just as bewildered as her mother was. "All I've ever known about this battle was that we were almost wiped out. We were destined to fail, but you turned the tides, Mother."

"I think you mean _burned_ the tides," Flavia joked from Robin's side.

"It's like I said earlier," Robin began with a proud smirk. "We're not pawns of some scripted fate."

"Anything can change," said Chrom, placing a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder. He smiled down at her with a nod. The look in his eyes was a familiar one to her, full of reassurance and confidence. Growing up, that look had been enough to assure her of absolutely anything; if her father was confident, she would be too.

"Exactly," Basilio's voice boomed from behind them. Lucina felt an arm jostle her and rub the top of her head, to her slight discomfort. "Don't you put any stock in this destiny hogwash! You're not in the future anymore, kid. This is _our_ world, and we'll all be damned if it ends up like that hellhole you left."

Though the West Khan's words were a bit harsh, Lucina felt an exhilaration at hearing them. As she stood by her parents' sides and watched with them with pride as the sea burned, her heart beat faster and felt so much lighter. Along with adrenaline, there was another feeling that coursed through her veins: Hope. And she had her parents, who stood before her tall and proud like heroes, to thank for that.

"I hope you're right," she said calmly, though fighting the smile off her face was near impossible.

* * *

 **I feel like A. Lucina never talks about/admires her mother enough (and she should because her mom is awesome no matter who you pick) and B. Her idolization of her dad is actually a pretty cute dynamic, one that makes sense and is good for storytelling. I wanted to explore those 2 points a biiiiit more, just not enough to fill an entire chapter. That's a bit overkill, so I went with little bits here and there.**


	20. I carry only the finest!

**I don't know how these intended short chapters always wind up so long... Well, I guess when you find more stuff to write (the entire scene with Frederick was not in the plan), you just gotta ride the wave. Plus, I had fun finding all the armory quotes :3**

 **Btw, for those who listen along, you might wanna find a website to play the song on loop. No extended version for this one...**

* * *

 **Ｏｉ ｋｅｒｒｙ ｏｕｎｌｙ ｔｈｅ ｆｏｉｎｅｅｅｅｓｔ**

Though they had stocked up on materials just before departing from Ylisstol, the Shepherds' weapons had seen more than their fair share of use since then. First against the Risen at Carrion Isle and now twice against the Valmese cavalry.

It was high time for some official shopping.

Only a select few headed to the on-board armory to restock on supplies and fix or (in the worst cases) replace the army's weapons. Robin and Chrom went together as always, being the two to work out the carefully planned and budgeted lists each time they were necessary, Frederick went along for his keen eye for fine weaponry and skill at the forge, Henry for his knowledge of tomes, and Libra for his help in the area of staves and healing magic.

Additionally, the tactician and captain decided to bring their daughter along this time, hoping to give her a sight into the lesser-known parts of running an army.

"I long for the day shopping is all we need to worry about," Lucina commented only half-humorously to her mother as they reached the armory door. Robin chuckled in response as she pulled on the wooden handle, the rest of the party following behind her.

"Well for now, Lucina," she began, taking in the smell of hot metals, new books, and sweet medicines that wafted through the air. "Shopping _is_ our only concern."

The inside of the armory was dim and the shelves dusty, likely due to the fact that it lay below deck. Lances and bows were displayed behind the counter where the armorer stood to greet them. His face turned up at the sight of the Ylisseean king and queen. "Ah, the Lord and Lady 'emselves! What can I fix you with?"

Chrom greeted him back before heading up to the counter with a large piece of paper – the list of weapons to be purchased, carefully planned and organized by person and price. They discussed quietly as Robin left her daughter's side to join him, and the remaining three spread out.

Lucina tentatively perused the shelves, lingering behind her parents near the counter. In the shelves, she could see older items sold by previous seafarers. Axes, staves, little trinkets like spirit dust... She knew she needn't look at the swords, being the owner of Naga's exalted blade and a noble rapier from one of the finest swordmakers in the world, but she couldn't help her eyes from wandering... Looking with her eyes and not her hands was challenging.

"Ooh! Put spikes on it!" she heard Henry's cheerful voice call from the forge. Frederick, a low grade sword in hand and ready to forge for the new dark knight, didn't look quite so amused as his counterpart. "Make it something brutal!"

Lucina laughed it off, her attention leaving the swords as she opted rather to edge her way closer to the counter. Her parents pointed at weapons behind the armorer, leaning their heads together and nodding in discussion every so often. The shopowner removed a lance of steel from the wall before handing it to Chrom, who toyed with its weight in his hand.

"How can we be sure of the quality?" he asked, his voice faint from where Lucina stood.

"I carry only the finest!" replied the armorer, arms crossed. "Guaranteed. Though if you like, I'll let ye take 'er out on deck and give 'er a go."

Lucina took note of the questions her parents asked and the way they took each of the Shepherds into consideration as they looked over the weapons the shopkeeper gave them. She already knew, for the most part, what to look for when shopping for swords, but she was surprised to hear all the different criteria that needed to be checked when buying other weapons. What amazed her the most, though, was the budgeting. Planning shopping for the whole army had to take a lot, she realized.

Robin scribbled on a piece of paper before nodding to Libra next to her, whose hands were full of vulnaries to hand over to the armorer. "May these belongings bless us with what funds we need."

Perhaps there was still a lot for Lucina to learn in leading an army...

"Lucina," her father called, having turned around to face his daughter. Her trance was snapped as she was caught lingering behind them near the shelves. "Let me see that rapier of yours."

"Yes," Lucina obeyed, unsheathing her noble rapier at her hip and holding it out to her father as she approached him. He took it off her hands and began to inspect it, turning it this way and that. She couldn't help but wonder what he wanted with it.

"Hm, it's got a few dents and scratches in it..." Chrom noted, inspecting the steel with a close eye. "Take it over to Frederick and see what he can do with it."

Lucina had wanted to tell him it wasn't necessary, that the sword held little meaning to her outside of combat and she'd be fine with only Falchion. However, his attention had turned back to the list in front of him too quickly, leaving his daughter left only to follow his command.

* * *

Frederick stood near the open fire of the forge, laying Henry's new bronze sword to the side as it cooled as Lucina approached him.

"Excuse me..." How was she to address him? As a child, she'd been taught to treat him as family, though a very respected family member for sure. Now, she faced the problem with many of her parents' closest friends in the Shephers that the terms 'Aunt' and 'Uncle' might be too familiar. Frederick barely knew her... Though to call him Sir seemed painfully formal. Calling her mother milady was embarrassing enough...

"Ahem, Frederick." She settled, disappointed, on using only his name. "My father told me to take this blade to you for repairs."

"Certainly, milady." Frederick reached out and took the rapier off her hands, inspecting it just as her father had moments before.

"Please, just Lucina is quite alright."

"Very well." His tone was kind, but Lucina still felt uncomfortable. She was still getting used to treating those she'd been so familiar with as though she'd not known them her whole life. As though the man before her hadn't watched over her throughout her childhood, been the one to bandage her up when she took spills on the paths in the gardens and sewed up the consequential holes she made in her dresses. And she thought the difficulties would end with her parents... How foolish she'd been!

"It's top heavy," Frederick stated, tilting the rapier in his hand back and forth. "Would you like for me to even it out a bit?"

Lucina smiled, glad just to hear the tiniest bit of familiarity slip into her old guardian's voice as he spoke more than two words at once.

"If it's not a problem!"

"Not at all."

* * *

Quite a few minutes passed and Lucina waited patiently as Frederick heated the tip of her rapier in the forge. The bustling sounds of shopping picked up as Chrom, Robin, Libra, and Henry went through the shelves looking for supplies. Lucina turned and watched with curiosity as Henry flipped through some tomes, summoning small auras around him here and there. She had always found magic so fascinating, and she had fond memories from her very young years of watching her mother practice spellcasting.

The sound of metal being struck whipped Lucina back around in her wooden stool. Her rapier lay on an anvil now as Frederick fixed it up with a hammer.

"A keen weapon can make or break a knight," he said simply when he paused for a moment. He wiped his brow before continuing. "Are you familiar with forging weapons?"

"No, sir, I can't say that I am," answered Lucina, raising her voice over the banging. "We always left that job to the blacksmiths in town."

"Ah, but see, you can't trust the blacksmiths. The best way to perfect a weapon to your liking is to forge it yourself. Or have it forged by someone who knows your fighting style."

"Which is why you're in charge of the army's forging?" It was less of a question and more a realization.

"Precisely." For the first time that day, Frederick smiled at her. A small one, but a comfort that reminded her of home nonetheless. She remembered him fondly from her time, him having always been the one to keep her busy and teach her valuable lessons when her parents were occupied or away. He, Olivia, and Inigo had become a second family of sorts for her and Morgan.

After sinking the sword in cold water to cool it off, Frederick handed it back to her. "Here," he said kindly. "I also took the liberty of narrowing the point to a sharper tip. With a precise arm such as yours, such a point can find a kink in any armor. The bane and nightmare of a knight." He ended on a more humorous note, a knowing look in his eyes.

"Thank you, s...Un...Mi..." Lucina stuttered on his title again, but managed to calm herself down with a nod and a smile. "Frederick."

"A pleasure. And if I may, I suggest you take a small cloth soaked in a concoction to the pas d'Ane and the quillons. It will restore the lost luster to their metal."

"I will! Thank you."

Something about his doting advice seemed definitely reminiscent of Lucina's past.

* * *

Roughly ten minutes later, Lucina waited near the counter, watching as her father mediated a discussion between Libra and Henry over concoctions, his patience growing visibly thin at the dark mage's morbid suggestions for alternative 'healing' methods. Her mother perused a rack of charms and talismans and ignored the fuss.

From the corner of the counter, a pile of tomes caught Lucina's eye. They appeared to have been discarded or on discount, as they looked to be of the lower grade she recognized from Morgan's bookshelves when he was younger. Slowly, she lifted a finger up to the cover of the book on top. A silver flame lay on the cover, which she carefully cracked open with her index finger. _Feuersbrunst_ read the inside page.

"Something catch your eye?"

Lucina wheeled around with a gasp, startled to see her mother peering over her shoulder. The tome cover fell shut with a soft thud. "Oh...no. I was just-"

"That's a Dying Blaze. Good condition, too. An original from Ferox," Robin commented, pulling the tome Lucina had been eyeing off the pile. She flipped through its pages with interest. "Did I ever teach you how to read tomes?"

"You tried. I can't say I was ever the particularly talented one when it came to magic," Lucina replied, knowing her brother was always the one with a higher strength of mind. Though she hadn't meant to allude to him to her mother. Thankfully she caught herself quick enough to correct her slip up. " _A_ particularly talented one."

Robin seemed to let her gaze linger on her daughter a moment longer than was normal, finding the 'slip of the tongue' a bit odd, but choosing to let it go. "Hm. I could still teach you now if you like," she offered. Lucina hesitated in replying, so Robin continued. "Don't worry, I wouldn't take away from your sword practice, and you could still wield Falchion."

Lucina knew her mother wielded both tomes and a sword as well, so clearly it was possible. She just doubted she would have much success with the former... She had always been better with the physical side of fighting, but when it came to powers of the mind such as healing and magic, she'd never been quite gifted.

"Don't feel like you have to," Robin continued, wanting to make sure her daughter didn't feel forced. "But I'd be more than happy to have a new protege now that Lissa's doing fine on her own."

Robin had taken Lissa under her wing to train her in wind magic, a process that had taken a good six months to get her fluent in casting them (she suspected it would've taken longer were wind tomes not written in common tongue). Though now she would be serving as a sage, and she was more than fine on her own.

Lucina really did want to take her aunt's place... She'd been learning from her father all her life, and she'd enjoyed it. She took pride in being a lord, following in the footsteps of Ylissean kings. She was happy with the way things were, though every so often she wished she'd inherited some of her mother's magical talent. She was the daughter of one of the greatest tacticians the nation had ever seen, a genius and almost as great a leader as her father. She wanted to live up to that legacy, but...

"I'm not quite as good with tactics as you are..." Lucina admitted bashfully, but she was beginning to come around to the idea of trying to be.

"You wouldn't have to be," Robin told her honestly, her eyes already brightening at hearing her daughter coming around. "Unless you want me to tutor you there as well!"

"I think magic should be enough, for now."

'For now?' Robin visibly perked up slightly at hearing this. "So you'll do it?"

Lucina smiled at the excitement in her mother's voice. "If it's not a bother."

"Of course it isn't!" Robin's arm found it's way around her daughter's shoulder, lightly squeezing her reassuringly. "I'm always happy to share some time with you."

Mother and daughter shared a short moment arm in arm, their moods light and minds racing before Robin jumped into planning. "Now! Which kind of magic do you think you'd like to start with? Certainly not wind; that's far too meek for you. I could see you performing well with a fire tome. And of course there's always thunder, like I've been using, though it's a bit more challenging..."

Robin looked at her daughter with raised eyebrows, trying to keep a challenging look out of her eyes as she awaited an answer.

"I think I'd like to try thunder," Lucina answered confidently after a second's thought. At her mother's pleasant surprise, she proudly raised her chin and exclaimed, "I'm up for the challenge!" If she was going to do this, if she wanted to try following in her mother's footsteps, she would do it right.

"Ha! Chrom and I raised you right, it seems. Thunder it is." Robin gave a light smile before remembering another detail. "Oh, and new armor. There's far too little range of motion in what you have on now. I think I have my old tactician's cloak stuffed away somewhere in my belongings."

At the mention of her cloak, Lucina's stomach turn its first turn since this discussion began. She hadn't considered that her mother's old coat was still available. Morgan had been the one to take it in their future...

It had been far too big for him, but since she could remember he'd insisted on wearing it around. When he'd needed to be carried to bed at night, he was wrapped up in it like a blanket. When he got older and wanted to tote his books between his room and the library, those sleeves held them. It was as much his cloak as it was their mother's... Lucina didn't feel right taking it. Even if she wasn't sure her brother was coming back at all.

"Oh, you d-" She started to deny, but Robin didn't hear her in time.

"Maribelle deemed it 'unfit for royalty' before making me the one I have now." The now grandmaster gestured to her outfit, made of a longer robe with golden trim. She'd requested it look similar to her old garb, but her friend had insisted on making it look for fit for royalty as well. "I couldn't quite make myself let go of that old cloak, though. It was all I had when I woke up... It was the cloak I joined the Shepherds in, traveled the world in, hid in when I was upset,... met your father in. I'm sure it'd fit you perfectly, if you wanted it."

Though she maintained her cool demeanor, Lucina could hear in the lilt of her voice just how much it would mean to her mother to pass down that cloak. It was true that it felt wrong to take something that was her brother's, and the thought of it made her sad and flooded with memories of his face. But she didn't want to miss the chance to make her mother happy. For all she knew, Lucina was her only child and her only chance to pass such things down to, not including the baby of this world.

"I'd be honored," she said, accepting her mother's request. The smiled she donned was not easy to force as memories of a blue haired boy drowning in purple fabric plagued her mind.

"So would I, to see my old robe find such a lovely and strong new owner!" replied Robin, her eyes thinning as her cheeks raised. Her hand grazed Lucina's shoulder before picking up the thunder tome. Lucina's eyes gazed the word _foudre_ on the cover in black. How was one to even pronounce such a word?

"Excuse me, sir. We'll take this one."

This would be more challenging than she thought...

* * *

 **So I did the separate languages thing (sorry I just found it a bit more culturally cool). My idea is: Ferox is German and made fire magic, Ylisse: English and created wind magic, Valm: French and created lightning magic, Plegia: Arabic and created dark magic.** **It's not gonna come up often, but I figured it seems a bit more realistic that each country have their own sort of culture.**

 **Also shoutout to that website albion-swords for the sword vocab XD**


	21. And what if I can't?

**I put a bit more effort into this chapter checking official details like the courtyard windows in the Ylissean palace and reading Morgan's many sibling support varieties and his support with Lucina non-sibling. Phew. Hard work.**

 **My timeline thought here is they have Severa (mentioned a couple chapters ago; since she was sorta near Port Ferox) and they turned around at the seaway to go find Naga's Tear (read: Morgan).**

 **But let's get to the actual chapter, shall we?**

* * *

 **And what if I can't? What if I'm not worthy of her ideals?**

"Lucina, Morgan's lost his memory. Like me."

"Oh."

Those words had chilled her blood, and as she looked down at her newly found brother, the world seemed to halt. There he stood, two years older than when she'd seen him last, trying to keep a smile on his face. He was almost as tall as she was now, his face was beginning to shape into that of a man – that of their father with their mother's nose and brown eyes. She had been completely prepared to wrap him up in her arms when she saw him arrive back at the port with her parents, but the confused lack of recognition on his face mingled with fear and had halted her in her tracks.

"You must be my sister, then, huh?"

Had he forgotten everything? How could he forget _her?_ All those years they spent together, those days as an orphaned prince and princess where they had to cling to one another... She could remember his ever-present optimism, his jokes, the constant presence of a book in his hand. But it didn't take her long to realize she was now the only one who did. Neither her parents nor her brother now could remember their lives together. She was an island.

"I-..." She couldn't find the words to speak to him. What could she say?

Thankfully, her father took her by the shoulder before too long, pulling her closer to his side and away from her brother. "Lucina, why don't we give Morgan and your mother some time to sort things out?"

"Yes," she replied stiffly. How odd it felt to not know how to behave in the presence of her own little brother... "Of course."

Her mother placed a hand on Morgan's back and guided him to her tent. She sent a concerned glance back at her daughter and husband as she went, both of whom stood together at a loss for words.

After Morgan and Robin disappeared from sight, Chrom finally uttered the words, "Are you alright?" His hand tightened on his daughter's shoulder, but his gaze remained ahead and pensive.

"How much of his memory is gone?" asked Lucina with a quiet voice.

"All but the memories of your mother."

Lucina's head turned to her side with surprise, gazing up at her father with a mixture of shock and worry. The knot in her stomach grew ever larger, and she felt her head begin to hurt. "He's forgotten you as well?"

"Yes..." Still, he made no eye contact with his daughter. A frown was etching itself onto his face. "It would seem so."

* * *

Later that night, Lucina found herself at a loss for sleep and wandering around the camp in the dark of night. A single candle burned from her parents' tent, and over the waves of the sea she could make out raised voices. With hesitation, the young girl quietly crept to the shadows outside their tent, though quickly realized this was not a conversation she wanted to hear.

"First Lucina and now this!"

"Chrom-"

"I failed them, Robin. I _left_ Lucina alone, _fifteen_ and with a whole nation in ruins on her shoulders. That's just the same as what my father did to Emmeryn. And now even _my own son_ doesn't remember me. I failed them both."

* * *

It took quite a few days before Lucina had adjusted to getting on with her brother, though she couldn't say she quite knew what to say to him on a moment's notice. She and her father at least seemed to be in the same boat there, though after overhearing her parents the week before, she knew her father's lack of connection was largely due to the feeling of having failed his son. Even her mother's words of comfort couldn't completely take that feeling away.

However, she did miss her brother. She missed the talks she could have with him and the way he always knew just what to say to cheer her up. She missed a time when he wasn't so confused about who he was that he had to ask her to explain his being to him. She missed seeing him as... himself. And so she did the only thing she knew how to do: she made up her mind to be stubborn. She resolved one evening to visit him in an attempt to build their relationship up once more, and she would do whatever he needed of her in order to feel himself again. And who knew? Maybe he would remember something along the way.

"Morgan?" She called one evening as she knocked on the open door to his quarters. The Shepherds had boarded another ship to Valm after their detour mission to fetch Naga's Tear. In her hand, which swayed with the rocking of the ship, was a plate with one of his favorite treats she'd picked up from the kitchens.

"Oh. Hi, Lucina." Morgan set down a book he'd been reading in the faint light and greeted her back with a familiar smile.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Lucina slipped in quietly and edged the door closed behind her.

"No, come on in! I'm just going back over those notes on what you told me about myself. I'm still holding out on the hope they'll spark some kind of memory." He had been quite insistent on hearing what his sister had to say about him, being ever ready to ask her his favorite color, pastime or food when they had a free moment. Lucina was happy to oblige as well, if not slightly off-put by the fact that he truly had lost everything.

"Heh, it's kind of crazy how much more you know about me than _me,_ right? Like getting five nosebleeds in one day? You'd think I'd remember something that awesome happening to me!"

Lucina let out a chuckle. "Yes, well you're still as cheerful as ever... As talkative, too."

"I guess some things never change!" Morgan laughed and smiled wide. It was a smile all his own, bigger and happier than either of his parents'. Lucina had missed it. Before she had too much time to dwell on it, however, his eyes excitedly took notice of the plate in her hand. "What's that in your hand? Was Gaius baking again?"

"Yes, I asked him to bake a few lemon cakes. Here," she extended the plate out towards her brother. "They were always your favorite."

"Thanks! Wait just a second, I'll have to write that down... Lemon cakes... lemon cakes..." He grabbed the book he'd been reading before Lucina arrived along with a quill, and he took a moment to scribble the snack under his list of favorite foods. When he'd snapped the book shut, he took the small pound cake off the plate and – after a quick examination – sunk his teeth into one of its soft, yellow corners.

"Awwww this is incredible!" he moaned with chubby, cake-filled cheeks. "See, this is what's so great about having no memories! * gulp * Every experience is like the first time."

Lucina let out a snicker at his wild manners, and in the back of her mind she noted the presence of his optimism once again. "I'm glad you like them."

"Say, do you wanna pick up where we left off with Project: Regain Morgan's Memories?" he asked, pulling his book and quill towards him once more. "You still haven't told me about any of my otherworldly superpowers that I discovered as a kid. And have clearly forgotten."

"Haha! Well, I'm sorry to disappoint, but..." Lucina began, pushing herself into another session of delving into memories. The nostalgia made her stomach burn, but she knew the past was too important to Morgan's memory - and the her mission to help him regain it - to keep to herself. After all, she was the only one capable of telling him about their family together...

…

"Oh, but there was this other time when we were swordfighting: You got so angry that I kept beating you, you began swinging your sword around like an absolute madman!" Lucina didn't know how long she'd been talking. At some point she'd gotten so wrapped up in reminiscence she couldn't seem to make herself stop once she'd started. "I'd never seen you so frustrated! Your blade put a scratch in the Sugi tree in your frenzy, and Father was absolut-..."

As her eyes met Morgan's, she realized he'd stopped taking notes, and a rather blank expression had appeared on his face. She slowed her speech to a stop before apologizing. "I'm sorry, I've been talking for a while."

"No, no! It's okay!" Morgan shook his head hurriedly, though his tone seemed quite forced. "I mean, I asked for your help, didn't I? This is all good stuff!"

"Well, yes, but it must be a bit overwhelming to hear all at once, is it not?"

"Well..." The slowing down of his brain was almost audible as his face fell and he couldn't think of a way to say it wasn't overwhelming, making it clear that his sister wasn't wrong.

"I have an idea," began Lucina, her voice calm and helpful. "Why don't you tell me what _you_ remember about Mother? Perhaps that will be easier, and I can fill in the gaps."

"Good idea!" He tried to smile once more, but it was clear he was straining to drag up a heavy spirit. Lucina had only wanted to help him with his wish to get his memory back; she hated to see him struggle even more in spite of good intentions. "Okay, let's see... I remember her taking me to the library a lot."

"That she did." Lucina confirmed calmly, trying not to be over eager and spill out all her memories on her brother again. "You two were in there almost daily!"

"And I remember her training in the courtyard," Morgan continued. An amused smile appeared under his thoughtful eyes. "Always thunder magic, of course."

"Mhm."

"I used to be able to hear it from my room, and when she practiced at night my windows would light up on the outside as if it were already morning."

Lucina thought fondly back on their bedrooms in the Ylissean Palace. They both had rooms overlooking the courtyard, each with two arched windows through which the trees and white pillars were visible. Sunlight and moonlight alike would spill through the ornate panes, as well as flashes from familiar thunder spells in the night. Somehow, the flashes always seemed to have a comforting effect on the young princess as she tried to sleep; they were reminders that her mother was just outside. Her brother, on the other hand...

"You were terrified of it when you were younger!"

"Yeah!" Morgan's voice almost contained relief at finally remembering something in common with his sister.

"You once ran to my room thinking it was storming," Lucina recalled, thinking back to a night when a seven-year-old burst into her room in a panic.

"Was I afraid of thunderstorms?" A quill was poised at the ready in Morgan's hand once more, ready to write down Lucina's answer in his book of notes.

"I think all children are at some point; you were normal in that respect," his sister replied kindly. Though a shadow of a smirk grew on the corners of her lips. "Though having to take refuge in your sister's room when it stormed at night..."

"Ha..." Morgan let out a weak laugh, though his quill made no movement. Nor did his eyes. They seemed quite focused on the table in front of them. "I can just imagine it now..."

The shaking in his voice broke Lucina's heart, but not nearly as much as the attempt he was making to appear alright.

"Morgan..." she whispered. "You know it's okay not to remember."

"But I want to!" Morgan said back, quiet desperation and frustration seeping into his voice. When he whined, he still sounded so young... "I- I want to remember being with you and Father too! All I can remember is Mother and that I want to be a tactician. But how am I supposed to command other people if I can't even remember who _I_ am?"

Lucina stood and moved to the side of the table next to him. She wanted to place a hand on his shoulder, but she thought it better she didn't. "Morgan," she began. "You've always been clever. You'll find a way through this, memories or no. Mother proved in this life that you don't need a past to build a future. As long as our bonds in this time are strong, destiny can be changed, and anything is possible. Don't get discouraged; you'll be able to follow in her footsteps just like you've wanted."

"And what if I can't? What if I'm not worthy of her ideals?" Morgan finally snapped, his voice wavering and eyes trying to squint against tears. "What if I never-"

"Then I'll help you until you are," Lucina replied with confidence and finality. It was not a question whether or not she and her family would stand by him; it was a fact. She'd not come this far and missed him so much to leave him to sorrow at the first sign of hardship. "We all will. Mother, Father, and myself, even Severa and all our friends and family members we've yet to find. It's what we're here for."

"Tactics is all I have, Lucina. What if I start to forget that too? I already failed everyone else; I can't fail Mother too, but from the way it looks now..."

"Morgan, I don't ever want to hear you say such a thing!" Her hand shot out to grab her brother's forearm. She needed him to listen when she continued. "You're my brother, whether you remember it or not. _I_ remember _you,_ and you could never disappoint me, nor could you ever 'fail' me. I'll be here for you whenever you need me, and I'll do everything in my power to make sure you're protected, be that from physical harm or burdens of the mind."

"But I still can't talk about old times with you," Morgan said solemnly. His sister's abrasive words had taken him down from the point of near tears he'd been in, but his eyes remained downcast. "I still don't remember you being my sister."

"Morgan... I know I've told you a lot about our fond memories, from before Mother and Father died," Lucina began. She had recounted to him countless of tales of their once happy family, but not yet had she uttered a word of their misery as orphans. The feeling of being misplaced and alone wasn't one she wanted him remembering, even if it was an important time (as far as memories go) when they'd had only one another. "But you have no idea how much pain and suffering we saw after they were gone. In a way, I envy you for being able to forget it all. It may be for the best that you don't remember all our 'old times."

Morgan stayed silent for a moment, as if thinking what his next move would be. When he finally spoke up, his voice was more stable than it'd been before. A familiar look of resolve grew on his face, in his pinched blue-ish eyebrows and the tightening of his lips. It was a look both he and his sister had inherited from their father's side.

"I want to remember," he said. "Even if it's horrible, I want to remember. I've already heard how many good memories we had, and being able to remember those – _really_ remember them – would make the bad times worth the pain, don't you think?"

Lucina found herself wondering when he'd grown up so much... When had he turned into such a sensible and mature boy? When had his voice begun deepening to resemble their father's? Almost three years they'd been apart. At their ages, that was too long. She'd missed him in his time of growing up, and she'd felt with him the past few weeks as if he were almost a stranger. But hearing him now, she was so glad to realize he was just the same boy he'd always been: an optimist who brought genuine positivity wherever he went. Even in an impossible situation he was focusing on the brighter parts of a life of pain that had blackened the hearts of others.

She truly had missed him.

"Perhaps," she resigned, the crease between her brows disappearing. With a sigh, she continued, "I'd forgotten what an optimist you can be. It's refreshing to see again."

Without warning, Morgan scooted on his knees over to her side. The sleeves of his coat wrapped around her shoulders, twin coats blending into one another as Lucina still wore her mother's old cloak.

"Thank you for always being here for me," said Morgan quietly into her shoulder as he squeezed his arms around her. "It's been confusing since I woke up, and I know it's probably been weird for you to see me like this, but you've stuck by me. Thank you."

Lucina felt her heart melt and the tension in her shoulders that she didn't realize she had release. For once, things felt right again. She raised an arm and hugged her brother back. A contented laugh resounded in her throat. "What else is an elder sister to do?"

A moment long they sat together on the bobbing floor, holding onto one another for the first time since reuniting. For Lucina, she had gotten a bit of her brother back. For Morgan, however, he had found a sister, and for the first time he could remember, he felt the new feeling of security, love, and calm all together. A feeling he would come to know only as 'family.'

Suddenly, a flash of white pain in the head interrupted all of Morgan's thoughts. With a groan, he keeled over, his eyebrows pinched together and teeth clenched.

"Morgan!" Lucina called worriedly, tightening her grip on his back with concern. "Are you alright?"

"Whoa!" he exclaimed through deep breaths. His eyes widened and his mouth suddenly went agape. "I just remembered something!"

"Really?" Lucina replied, unable to decide between shock and excitement.

"Yeah! Like a real memory from before! We were sitting at a table-" Morgan began to recount eagerly.

"Where?" asked Lucina, eager for details.

"I don't know. The palace maybe, but it's faint. But you laughed just like you did just now. You know, sort of like a 'hm'. You were looking right at me and you just 'hmm'd!" The boy took a few deep, happy breaths before continuing, remembering another detail. "Ha! And you still had Falchion at your side, even at the dinner table... or wherever it was we were."

"I still do that," his sister commented with a chuckle, at a loss for words and in disbelief. He must've remembered something from the year after their parents disappeared if she'd been in possession of and clinging to Falchion as she took to doing. But it was a laugh. It was something happy and positive, even in the midst of that horrible year. Perhaps Morgan had been right – the good memories within the bad would be worth remembering it all.

"I'm remembering things, Luci! This is fantastic!" Morgan sprung up from his seat, wobbling slightly as he tried to get is balance on the sea. "I can't wait to go tell Mother. Oh, and Father! Maybe I can remember something about him now too!"

"I'm glad for you, Morgan." Lucina beamed at her younger brother, glad to see him perked back up and chipper as she was used to. The use of his nickname for her came as pleasant music to her ears as well. She was glad to feel herself excited and full of joy, falling victim to the contagious enthusiasm that Morgan had inherited from their mother.

"I couldn't have done it without you." With a smile, he began to charge for the door to his quarters, but he thought twice before leaving. Quickly, he ran back to his sister, dropping to his knees behind her and wrapping his arms around her shoulders once more.

"Thank you, Lucina. You're a great sister," he said behind her. She contentedly closed her eyes and leaned her head back onto his, nuzzling their matching hair together. "And later I wanna hear some more about the future, okay? Let's really get this ball rolling and spark some more memories, what do you say? Good times, bad times... I wanna hear everything!"

"Of course," she replied as he made way for the exit once more.

"Great! I'll be back later. I have to go find Mom and Dad!" And with that, he was out charging down the halls, the wooden door swinging shut behind him.

Lucina took a second to absorb what had just happened, letting the new connection she'd rebuilt with her brother sink in. She felt closer to him now that she could see him for who he was again, and he was even beginning to remember her. Bit by bit, things were getting better. Letting out a breath that released a weight off her chest, she felt her shoulders shake and her eyes sting with happiness.

She had her brother back.

* * *

 **I actually referenced my You May Call Me Marth chapter with Morgan cutting up the tree. Fun fact for ya.**

 **I tried _so_ hard to keep their dialogue sounding like their actual tone of voice. Hope I managed to somewhat pull it off. Morgan getting upset wasn't easy to base off anything since he's so damn happy all the time.**

 **I realize these chapters have turned very Lucina-centric. Is that bugging anyone? I mean, by my plan, the Lucina streak will end at chapter 25, and from there it will be more mixed. Comments? Complaints? Review!**


	22. Champion

**So we start with three kids - Severa and the blueberry twins - and now we get all the rest who are in Valm. Trying to keep the army's movement realistic considering leaving the continent where war is happening to travel back to the farthest corner of Ylisse because of some meanie bandits is not something that would be very smart.**

 **WARNING:** **If you're like me and don't like reading about children stemming from pairings that you don't prefer, don't read this chapter. No one will be offended if you skip it :) If it doesn't bug you, then enjoy. Also, sorry for the line breaks galore. I had really nice small copy paste ones but the site is kindly choosing not to display them in the text.**

* * *

 **Champion**

After finding Morgan, the other 'second generation Shepherds' seemed to appear one after another. Here and there, someone in camp would catch wind of something strange happening in the area – raids and lootings brought to their ends by a mysterious youth, a child rebelling against a local crime lord. It didn't take long for such stories to become the Shepherds' cue to go to the scene of the crime, and no sooner did they do so than they had a new champion of time travel among their ranks.

It did take getting used to, finding the children. Before their presences became commonplace, many of the adults found sudden parenthood quite difficult to swallow – especially when they found out the children had personalities eccentric enough to challenge their parents!

Why, no one had expected the theatrical vigilante fighting in the village the Ylissean soldiers were marching through to be Lissa's son. Through when he'd begun making a scene and declaring the rekindling of old rivalries, there was no doubt left that he could be anyone _else's_ son but her's and Vaike's.

* * *

"Lucina!" he'd called happily after the battle against the ruffians had been won. His slightly older cousin looked up from her conversation with her brother to see him running towards them. His mother and father stayed behind him, Lissa gesturing with glee at her arm. Excitedly, she pointed at the place where her son's Brand lie before running into her husband's open arms.

"Owain!" Lucina called back as her cousin reached her. "It's lovely to see you again."

"Likewise, my lost long cousin. It seems the ties in our sacred blood have drawn us back to one another once more!" Somehow, she couldn't tell if the feeling washing over her was comfort at hearing his grandiose voice again or shock at suddenly remembering just how over-the-top he was. Though she supposed it was, in any case, best his inheritance from his father stopped there; 'The Owain' would've been much more... trying.

"I wouldn't call us _long_ lost..." Lucina tried to add in gently. Of course, they hadn't seen one another since Owain was merely fifteen, but that was hardly over two years prior. Owain seemed to pay no mind to her notion, however, as his attention went immediately thereafter to Morgan.

"And Morgan!" he nearly announced, his hand dramatically clamping around his blade with a rattling of his armor. The younger boy jumped and his eyes widened slightly. "My long lost rival of the ages. Years I have trained, and now that I have Mystletainn at my side, I swear by Ike that you shall fall once and for all to Owain Dusk!"

Lucina sent out a silent prayer that Morgan would be able to handle his older cousin, considering the poor boy's memory loss. It would be enough to just meet a family member you didn't remember, she assumed, but Owain was a bit much to handle even for those who'd known him all his life.

Morgan stared speechless. How could he have prepared any proper response to such a declaration? From someone he was told was family, no less. Owain took his younger cousin's silence as an opportunity to think over his previous line.

"No, that doesn't sound right..." he mused, his voice leaving its theatrical flourish as a hand came to pinch his chin thoughtfully. He shook his head, leaving such thoughts behind as a smile grew on his face. Taking a step forwards, he opened up his arms and pulled his two cousins in to a too-tight hug. "It's really great to see you two again."

Hearing his regular voice gave Lucina a chance to finally remember Owain as she knew him best: warm and sincere, like his mother. Throughout the days when her father had trained the three cousins together in swordfighting, Owain had consistently been the one to bring (rarely intentional) humor to the long hours on the training grounds together. For Morgan, the fantasy his older cousin began to develop had been fun and provided him with a perfect older playmate.

Though now, those memories stayed in the past for the youngest cousin. In their childhood, Owain's persona had developed gradually; now that his memories were gone, Morgan was being faced with the height of his cousin's theatrics right off the bat. He shot Lucina a look from behind Owain's back that said more than words ever could. His eyes widened and his eyebrows furrowed upwards as if to say, "Who in the world am I related to?"

Lucina simply acknowledged him with a smile and attempted to hug her cousin back, though her arms were quite tightly bound as it was. Of course Morgan couldn't remember their childhoods together, but she figured this reuniting would make for an interesting first memory of Owain.

* * *

After Owain, many of the Shepherds began to talk. Whose children were still out there? All married couples came under suspicion any time a noteworthy teenager was seen in the streets. Could that be their child perhaps?

Lucina, Severa, and Owain suddenly became very popular with the adults, and the question "So which of your other friends could we be expecting to see around?" was the number one conversation topic.

* * *

One evening, Severa stood in front of the mirror in her tent, a book laying on a crate in front of her as she massaged a special oil into her damp hair to help keep it smooth and shiny. Every evening, she cursed her father for giving her such naturally unruly hair...

"If many women are competing for his attention, differentiation will definitely give you the cutting edge..." she mumbled aloud, leaning over to read the words off the pages as she continued work on her hair. Flipping through the pages of this book, which she'd found in a field the previous afternoon, had become a sick addiction. "Give or show him tangible or intangible evidence to suggest-"

"Severa! May I come in?"

"-that you are the best optio- AH!" The young girl screamed and clumsily slammed the book shut as the familiar voice of her mother met her ears. Cordelia stood behind her, already inside and looking stunned by her daughter's reaction. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking? Gawds!"

Coredlia's face turned apologetic as her eyes followed her daughter, who now hurriedly picked the book up off the ground to clasp it defensively in her arms. The title was turned towards her and clutched tightly against her chest. "I didn't mean to startle you. What were you reading?"

"None of your business!" Severa retorted, squeezing the book a bit tighter. Gods, she could not let herself get caught reading a book as corny as this one... Its title alone was embarrassing enough.

"Very well," replied her mother, hesitantly dropping the subject. Her real purpose for coming, besides attempting yet again to successfully carry out a conversation free of yelling with her daughter, was to fulfill a favor for Sumia. Her friend had been wanting to know who it was she would marry, if anyone at all. Though Cordelia suspected her fellow pegasus knight already had a man in mind considering all the time she was spending with the new dark mage who'd shown up in camp a few weeks prior. "I just came by to ask a quick question for-"

"Is it about any of my friends from the future?" Severa cut her off testily, knowing from experience what question was to come. She waited with a sour and expectant look on her face.

"Well..." Cordelia began to answer hesitantly. "Yes, but-"

"I already told you Lucina swore me to secrecy!" yelled the young girl, her knuckles angrily clasping tighter around her book's cover. "She'd kill me if she found out I told anyone anything they shouldn't know! Is that what you want?"

"Of course not, darling, but-."

"Then out!" Severa's eyes widened angrily as she gestured with her mouth agape towards the flap to her tent.

"But, Severa, I ju-" Her mother tried to protest, not wishing to return to Sumia with no information. She took one step further into the tent, which was met by a more aggressive one from her daughter.

"The door's that way!"

"All I-" Unwittingly, Severa's arms had loosened, allowing her book to lean forward and the title to show as she tried to challenge her mother away. Cordelia's eyes couldn't help but involuntarily flicker downward. What she saw brought back too many embarrassing memories – and more importantly too much shock for her to not shout in surprise...

"Make Him Fall for You in a Fortnight?!"

"OOOOOOOOUT!"

* * *

Regardless of Severa and the other children's pact of secrecy, Sumia received her answer soon enough. Within the weeks thereafter, she and Henry were wedded, and when a white-haired pegasus knight with a talent for tripping and making grand entrances was seen on the other end of the battlefield, it was known to all who she was.

* * *

"Here we go," Cynthia cooed to her pegasus as she gently ran a brush through its fur. "See? Now your fur is all clean, just like when you were Mother's. It wouldn't do for my number one sidekick to be covered in dirt anymore, would it?"

Her pegasus whinnied with a small shake of its head. Slowly, it brought its head forward to nuzzle its owner in the chest. Cynthia laughed happily and hugged her mount back around the neck. "I'm sorry I wasn't taking such good care of you for a while there," Cynthia apologized. Only recently had her Mother indirectly pointed out the lack of attention the pegasus had been receiving, and Cynthia had since been trying her best to show her animal companion all the care she would show herself. Thankfully, the pegasus replied with a gentle and forgiving nudge of its head towards its owner.

The girl smiled widely (a look she'd inherited from her father), the understanding between herself and her steed warming her heart. She'd heard her mother talk of the special connection between pegasus and rider, but never had she understood it until recently. And she could even vividly recall her father's tale of a wolf who became like family to him, however she'd never understood how one could form a bond so close with an animal until now as she wrapped her arms around the strong neck of her pegasus.

"Now if only I could find some crows to be friends with me too... Father always looks so cool on the battlefield with a whole flock around him!" The young hero took a liking to the image of herself riding a white pegasus while a dark murder of crows drew the eye to her presence. "Just picture it: Cynthia, Commander of Wings... No, no, no... How about Cynthia, Ruler of the Skies! Yeah, that's it!"

* * *

Many of the children who returned with Lucina found, as Cynthia did, that they were similar to their parents in ways rather unexpected. Many found themselves taking comfort in such similarities which - due to untimely deaths or too little time spent together - were only coming to light now.

Inigo, for instance, had always known where his love of dancing had come from. All the words his mother was too shy to speak had always come out through one musical medium or another – an ability she unwittingly passed to him when he was a shier child. Dancing, singing, even occasional piano playing were all things he shared with his mother.

However, all his life, he'd thought himself different from his father in most every way.

Even the royal retainer – always dutiful, serious, and devoted to his liege – had had difficulty understanding how a flirtatious and theatrical dandy could possibly have been raised by him. Where was the boy's sense of responsibility? Hadn't he been brought up with the knowledge that he would serve Chrom's children once Frederick was no longer able to? Was there anything he'd passed down to his one and only son?

Though one night as the moon was rising ever further, the Shepherds couldn't seem to get enough of one another as they spoke loudly and jovially around the central bonfire in camp. It had been a rare day in which a good mood had ruled the army, and as plates were continually refilled and glasses of drink washed down again and again, the good mood bled into the night.

The night owl, Inigo, had snuck out of his tent unseen that night. He tried to keep to an alternating schedule of dancing and training, and that night was a night in which he fetched a sword and squeezed in some training, for only alone could he confidently try out new moves and steps to further his fighting style he'd been developing. He'd managed to sneak to the woods on the camp's edge without catching anyone's eye, but the sound of folk music still caught his ear. Stahl and Cordelia had taken out their harps and Maribelle had fetched her violin while the rest of the soldiers joined in by singing, clapping, stomping, or – in the case of his mother – dancing.

Inigo admired how comfortable his mother had been able to grow in front of her friends, taking a moment to stare at her from the shadows as she danced through the motions of a popular Northern Ylissean folk dance. Though soon came the need for a partner, at which point she very properly approached his father.

In no world would Inigo have pictured his father the type to join in, though join he did. Granted, it was a very proper dance akin to an upbeat waltz – nothing too terribly wild, of course. But as the young man got lost watching his parents move around the bonfire, memories of sitting in on dance lessons for the prince and princess rushed back to him.

In a time before the war in Valm became too urgent, a fair few parties were thrown in the royal palace, where Inigo and his family lived on account of his father's position. Frederick and Olivia (as well as Maribelle, on occasion) were left to teach the young royalty how to handle themselves in front of nobility, and that included dancing. His mother would play simple songs on a piano as his father and Maribelle would help guide the children through the motions of elegant dances. Inigo always secretly wished to be on the floor dancing instead of on the piano bench next to his mother. Though getting to watch a looser and happier side of his father - which proved quite easy to forget existed - was not all bad, in retrospect.

Inigo lightheartedly flipped his sword around in his hand, a small smile growing on his face. "Well, what do you know?" he mused to himself as the song continued, backed up by the voices and claps of the soldiers. More couples joined in, but his mother and father remained happily in the middle. "I guess I may have an inheritance from you after all."

Though he didn't have much time to get lost in thought. It was late, and he had to get his training in sometime. The sound of a stern voice ran through his head, reminding him that "Honor is of the body; hone the body, and honor shall grow strong." And the heaven's knew no woman worth her salt would fall for a man of dishonor!

* * *

With the overwhelming majority of the children, however, the similarities to their parents were plain to see, even if one party or another wasn't particularly pleased to see it.

Gerome, for instance, had been told his whole life long that he was 'his father's son.' A serious boy who leaned toward the standoffish side and spoke his mind in short. In addition, his entire appearance barring his ears screamed of his father. These were facts that even the Shepherds of the past pointed out, along with their 'humorous' new jape of spelling his name Ger'ome to further prove their point.

Though the boy wanted not to be compared to a man who was not truly his father. To Gerome, it mattered little that Lon'qu was merely a younger version of the man he'd once been so proud to take after. He may have looked like his father, but he was not the same man. Gerome knew that, and yet when Minerva let Lon'qu lay his hand on her snout, when he saw that man smile at him again for the first time in years, he found it more and more difficult to resist letting the word "Father" fall off his tongue.

* * *

Maribelle, as well, faced a conflict of conscience when it came to family matters. She was delighted by her son's beautiful ability to make his violin sing, and she would be lying if she said his tea wasn't superb. Clearly, she'd taught him the basics well.

But the very moment when he began to converse with his father, their shared farmer dialect growing stronger through kinship, she felt a desperate need to close her ears and pretend she'd never heard. How absent had she been that Brady had been allowed to pick up such an uncouth manner?

Though it was clear to any of the Shepherds to see that no matter how often she complained and insisted on proper speech from her son, she once again was just flaring up too quickly, almost as if by reflex or instinct. For when she found herself being roughly hugged by her son, her hair becoming frizzed and mussed up, a sweet smile began to grow on her face that she couldn't hold back, and her eyes closed contentedly as her head leaned onto Brady's shoulder. Every single time, without fail.

* * *

By the time the Shepherds had traveled the Valmese continent, there were still married couples anxious to meet their children. Though it became clear they would not find them in their current corner of the world.

Lucina explained once more how time traveling had left them all over the world, meaning their children were almost definitely out there _somewhere_ in a place they'd not yet looked. It was just more likely that they would be found once they returned to Ylisse. This knowledge inspired most everyone to fight harder against Walhart's army, knowing that if they did, they could return home to find their children and friends. The young time travelers found in Valm were eager to see their friends once more, and the parents were more than anxious to find, protect, and meet their offspring.

* * *

 **This chapter was way better in theory, I think. Wanted to give a bit of a change in style for one chapter, but it was harder than expected XD**

 **Notes: Owain is hard to write for, Severa is an a-hole, I could totally see Cynthia loving the crow entrances, Fred's hips don't lie, and Gerome legit looks like Lon'qu going to comic con. Also I always actually prefer Vaike!Brady and MaleMU!Owain, but there's no MaleMU this time around, so Vaike was best for Owain and that left Donnel and Ricken for Brady.**

 **Also, look up that honor quote. It's from the knight's code according to Sully ;)**


	23. Rival

**Just keep the moves in the Two Falchions cutscene in mind and that's basically how I picture this fight going down, just with epic screaming of move names mixed in. ;)**

 **Also Odin's JP critical quote is "Killer move: Awakening Vander!" Just keep that in mind.**

* * *

 **Rival**

"Radiant... DAAAAWN!"

"Too slow! I parry your move with ease!"

"Inconceivable!"

"And the rightful king of Ylisse strikes back! Flamingo PUUUUNCH!"

" _Ka-ping!_ The scion of legend deflects your fireball with a mere swing of his sword!"

Chrom knew not for how long his son and nephew had been... dueling (if one might call it that), but he knew he himself had been standing and observing since Morgan unleashed his 'Magniloquent Wallop'. That must've been a good two or three minutes ago.

Just what on earth was he bearing witness to?

"Chrom?" came a voice from behind him, still clear enough to be heard over the shouts of the two cousins in the meadow. Chrom turned and saw his wife and sister approaching him, tomes in both of their hands. He sent the two of them a smile as Robin rested a hand on his shoulder. "What are you doing? I thought you wanted to try sword training with Morgan today."

"Yeah!" Lissa piped in. "You didn't chicken out did you?"

"I did want to train with Morgan," Chrom replied, looking into Robin's concerned eyes. She had been as much an advocate for this training session as he was, hoping this could be the chance he needed to bond with his son. Training seemed to have been so important to Lucina; perhaps it would be the same with Morgan and spark some memories. "But..."

He gestured with his head towards the meadow before them, where Owain was leaping through the air with a wooden sword while shouting out "Killer move: Awakening Vander!" This duel seemed to be a mixture between fantasy and real battle, as only half the moves the boys were shouting out were being physically performed.

"Oh."

Morgan deflected his cousin's blow with his own sword before pushing him back and beginning to hack away at him. Left and right the two boys swung as they spun in circles, pacing around one another while neither gained an edge.

"They're fighting so violently..." Lissa noted with worry in her tone.

"I've seen these moves before," Robin realized. "Granted without the... embellishments. It seems Morgan hasn't forgotten quite everything."

"He fights with the same form as Lucina," Chrom elaborated. It was true, he could see the same stances and strikes as he had been taught by his father, the same ones his daughter claimed he taught her and her brother and cousin. Morgan's swings looked slightly less concentrated and controlled, tending to be more brutal like those of his mother, but it was clear to see who had taught him to wield a sword.

"They both learned from you. Or so Lucina says."

"Someone's going to get hurt..." Lissa's fretting continued, oblivious to the conversation taking place around her.

"A bolt of thunder strikes you from my blade. Thoronic Wrath!" Morgan shouted seriously, though his enjoyment was clear. He defensively brought his arm in, raising with sword up horizontally before launching himself at Owain.

"Unwise!" Owain exclaimed, taking up the same stance and mirroring his younger cousin. "I know your every move, deplorable fiend!" Their swords clashed, the sound of metal ringing through the air before both boys stopped, breathing heavily and wiping sweat off their brows.

"It seems we're at a stalemate, my rival. Till the next fated hour is tolled!" Owain cried, slightly out of breath as he held a dramatic hand in the air.

"I'll not let you off so easy next time!" Morgan replied dramatically. "I swear it! I SWEEEEEEEEAR!"

And before a moment's pause was over, both boys broke into smiles and began to laugh, clutching one another's shoulders as their chests shook with chuckling.

"Well fought, you two!" Robin congratulated them from between Chrom and Lissa. The two younger boys looked up, shocked to see they'd been being watched. Both stared at their family as blush crept onto their cheeks.

"How long have you been watching us?" Morgan asked as he and Owain approached the adults, sweaty and out of breath.

"Not long," answered Robin.

"A bit longer," said Chrom.

" _Too_ long!" Lissa stamped a foot on the ground, attempting to look stern. The result was her usual pouty face. "You two are going to kill each other fighting like that!"

"We're rivals, Mother!" Owain objected, roughly placing an arm around Morgan's shoulder and jostling him side to side. "We can't turn our back on fate's path for us!"

"Ugh, not you too," Lissa sighed, this conversation sounding all too familiar to her. It seemed Chrom and Vaike's 'rivalry' went deep into their genes, leading it to be passed to their sons. "You sound just like your father."

"Don't worry, Aunt Lissa. I was so close to beating him this time!" Morgan boasted. "So close to ending this rivalry once and for all! Then you won't have to worry about a thing. I'll have humiliated Owain so badly he won't ever raise a sword against me again."

Owain let go of his cousin's shoulder with an offended look on his face as Lissa glared accusingly at her brother and sister-in-law. It was no mystery where Morgan had gotten his prideful hatred of losing from. "That is _your_ son," she said accusingly, prompting sheepish grins from the boy's parents. "Well, one of these days, one of you will get seriously injured, and _I_ , for one, will _not_ be healing you up if you do!"

Owain's hand went guiltily to his bicep, rubbing it gently as he asked, "So I take that to mean you won't heal the gash on your favorite son's arm?"

Lissa let out a concerned and defeated sigh. "Of course I will! I just wanted to sound threatening!" She grabbed her son by the arm and examined the bleeding cut just above his elbow. "Ugh, you couldn't have become a sage or something safe like me? Come on, I'll go get my staff."

Lissa dragged her son away to her tent, leaving Morgan and his parents alone.

"Phew! Fighting with Owain really takes it out of me," the young boy exclaimed, wiping his brow on the sleeve of his coat. "I'm off to the bathing tent. Unless, did you two need something?" He looked his parents in the eyes expectantly, awaiting whatever it was they'd come to see him about during his match against Owain.

Robin turned towards Chrom with a similar expression to her son, squeezing his shoulder with light encouragement."Uhm, well..." Chrom began uncertainly. He hadn't quite been expecting to find out that his son already had a sparring partner, leaving him in an awkward position of facing turned tables. "You see, I was wondering, Morgan, if perhaps you'd like to try training with me a few days a week. But I can see you've already-"

"Are you kidding?" Morgan gasped before his father had a chance to finish. His eyes widened as his shoulders straightened up at attention. "That would be great! I wanted to ask you myself, but I always figured you were too busy with Lucina."

A feeling of relief washed over Chrom. A smile came to his face as he met Morgan's excited eyes. "Not at all. I'd be happy to get the time with you," he said. Ever since Morgan had arrived, Chrom had been trying to find some way to interact with him. He seemed to be the only weak link in the family with no connection to the boy. Morgan remembered his mother, and Lucina remembered him, but neither father nor son had any recollection of one another.

He knew he loved Morgan as a father should from the moment he discovered the boy was his son, but there was still something missing. He wanted to get to know his son like his wife and daughter did. And perhaps along the way, a memory would surface from the future. Perhaps something would come up to prove he'd been a good father to his son in the future – a fact the lord was beginning to doubt with each day his son had no recollection of him. "And who knows? Maybe this will help your project."

"Oh, this definitely bodes well for Project: Get Memories of Dad Back!" Morgan nodded vigorously, bursting with excitement. He gripped the sword left in his hands tighter, looking beside himself with anxiousness. "You know what? Forget the bath! Do you think we could start now?"

"Uh-" Chrom stammered, caught off guard by Morgan's enthusiasm. "Of course!"

"Great! Wait right here! I have to go get my better gear from my tent, but I'll be back before you know it." Morgan ran off to his tent to fetch his finer wristguards and gloves, having been using the cheaper ones when sparring with his cousin. But he knew even without personal experience that training with his father would be a different league entirely.

Chrom and Robin watched as their son excitedly ran off, a weight off their chest knowing that Chrom's training proposal had worked. Robin caught sight of her husband lost in thought and staring with a small smile at where Morgan had been, and she rubbed his shoulder once more.

"I think he remembers you," she whispered with a smile. "Even if he doesn't realize it. His brain doesn't remember learning swordfighting, but his muscles do, and I think it's the same with his friends and family, Chrom. He doesn't remember you in his conscience, but... in his heart, I think he does."

A comfortable, peaceful pause followed thereafter. Chrom let out a sigh and raised his hand to his shoulder to rest it over his wife's lingering fingers. "Time will tell, I suppose."

Morgan came charging back towards them at that moment, wrists guarded and a proper sword in his hand. On his face he wore and excited smile laced with the faintest touch of competitiveness. He was eager to go up against his father.

"It already has," Robin commented, a knowing humor in her tone. She was right, for it was plain to see that the young boy already loved and admired his father just as a son should, though he had no conscious basis to draw such feelings from. It was all coming from a natural gut feeling.

"Now... draw your sword and go annihilate him like you do to our daughter. He could use a classic example of our family bonding!"

* * *

 **Also to swordfighting style, I figure if Owain has the "style of House Ylisse" as stated in his paralogue, Chrom probably trained him seeing as the only other living member of House Ylisse is a non-sword-wielding Lissa.**


	24. Oh, it's not so bad, Lissa

**PHEW! Long time since an update had come, huh? Well A.) I have school and was on vacation last week and B.) This chapter ran _far_ longer than expected. Surfing the Supports scripts, the ideas just kept coming.**

 **Some of you had been wanting chapters with more interaction with the first generation characters. This one's for you guys. Also, CallmeCrazylol: there's one part in her just for you bb**

* * *

 **Oh, it's not so bad, Lissa. Just a healthy little stroll!**

"I can't even feel my legs anymore!" Lissa whined as she trudged alongside her husband, her best friend, and "Group Strategy", as she took to calling Chrom, Robin, Frederick, and Virion. The sun was making its way down as evening was fast approaching. The sky was clear and the Mila Tree stood proud behind the Shepherds as they made their way south to Fort Steiger.

"Oh, it's not so bad, Lissa," Chrom said distractedly from behind a large map he and the other strategizers were looking over. "Just a healthy little stroll!"

"You always say that, and I always wind up with very _un_ healthy blisters on my feet the next day!" his sister protested, her arms rising into the air and her face turning pouty.

"How do you propose we approach the defenses, Robin?" Frederick asked, ignoring the complaints of the young princess in hopes that she would opt to speak to Vaike or Maribelle as the others continued to work.

"I've heard Fort Steiger is nearly impenetrable..." Chrom looked at his wife with concern, expecting an answer from her. Her eyes remained concentrated on the rough sketch of the fort that Say'ri had drawn up for them. It was merely a guess based on what she'd seen and heard of it, which was little, but it was at least something.

"We need to get you back to the castle as soon as possible, darling!" they heard Maribelle fret over Lissa from atop her horse. "No princess deserves to have calloused feet."

"We could perhaps send a team of our better mages out first to break down any knights stationed as guards," suggested Virion. Robin had been turning to the duke's advice on her tactics since discovering he was quite well-versed in strategy. However, his lack of ability to protect the lives of soldiers kept him from being particularly useful in the actual drawing up of such strategies.

"Hey what do you think she's got The Vaike for?" the loud voice of the fighter sounded from the side group. Vaike hoisted the princess over his shoulder and began to carry her with one arm – a motion which sent her laughing and begging to be set back on her feet. Devilishly, he began to spin back and forth with his wife in his arm.

"And when the knights inevitably fight back?" Robin questioned Virion's suggestion testily. Stress was seeping into her voice and become harder to hide. "We'd lose those mages in an instant! You have to think ahead, Viri- HEY!" At that moment, Lissa – laughing and red in the face – collided with Robin's shoulder as Vaike spun her around.

Lissa stopped laughing and found herself put back down as it became clear they'd just broken the tactician's patience.

"Can't you two at least _feign_ concern for the upcoming battle?" Robin's eyes burned into the couple as her voice was struggling to remain below a full yell. Lissa and Vaike shrunk slightly under her gaze.

"Oh come now, Robin. We still have a three days' march ahead of us to Fort Steiger," Maribelle came to their rescue. Her voice remained calm as she addressed the overworked tactician. "I think we could all use a small break from the strain of battle. You and the captain most of all."

"Maribelle does makes a fair point, milord," Frederick jumped in. Both Chrom and Robin looked at him with surprise. He would normally be the last one they'd expect to suggest taking a break. Were they really that overworked?

If only they could see each other through one another's eyes. Chrom saw the way his wife's lips were dry and cheeks thinning, a result of the days she'd been spending behind maps and books without thinking to drink or eat. She, on the other hand, saw the purple shadows under her husband's eyes and the effort it was taking him just to hold up his part of the map. Weeks of marching, planning, fighting... When they both tried to think of the last time they'd simply relaxed, they realized just how long it had been. They were exhausted.

"I concur!" Virion announced, folding the map closed from his side. Gently, he grabbed the edge of the large paper from Robin's hand and took it away along with a book she'd been holding in her free hand. "Leaves the maps and books to me, milady. You said yourself I've as sharp an eye for tactics as I do for targets."

"I'm not sure I remember saying _that,_ " said Robin, skeptically. Her hands, now empty, still tiredly reached out for her study materials, though she knew she wouldn't be getting them back.

"Your knight and I shall search through the previous setups and analyses you've noted in your books and present you with a few suitable strategies tomorrow morning." She thought it wise of him to suggest using her old strategies rather than build one up on his own. His tactics could be reckless, but he could at least tell proper strategy when he saw it. If Robin were to look through her books herself, it could take hours to find the right battle strategies to apply at Fort Steiger. This would take a huge chunk of work off her shoulders. "Until then, you may focus on resting and regaining your beautiful glow of health!"

"Virion!" Lissa lightly chastised the duke. Chrom's surprised expression remained locked on him. "You can't say things like that in front of a woman's husband!"

"Are we a mite jealous, my young princess?"

"Of what?" Vaike jumped in defensively, putting a possessive arm around his wife. "A guy in a bib?"

Frederick, Robin, and Maribelle all three corrected the fighter in unison: "It's a cravat."

Virion looked proud that the group was understanding and justifying his fashion sense, but Vaike seemed nonetheless unimpressed. "If ya ask me, it's just a white piece of-"

"Enough," Robin cut him off tiredly. She took a deep breath before continuing hesitantly. "Bickering is a rather counterproductive way to start relaxing, don't you agree?"

"Oh, how good! You're taking the night off!" Lissa cheered, happy her brother and sister-in-law had agreed with such minimal resistance. "Everyone's missed chatting with you two, you know?"

Chrom and Robin both smiled, feeling it was nice to be missed.

"What say you all to a cup of tea once we get settled for the night?" Maribelle asked the group, her happiness showing as well. It was true that the general and tactician could influence all their subordinates: When the leaders were stressed, everyone was, and when they relaxed, the whole army let out the tension in their shoulders.

"I say tea is for you noble folk," Vaike replied somewhat gruffly. "I think I'll stick to meat and ale!"

"Fine," replied Maribelle, trotting off on her horse to the wagon to search out the proper tea for the night. However, she didn't leave before adding on: "No skin off my arse."

The whole group stood in shock. Hearing such words from Maribelle was a rarity, but Vaike's chuckle seemed to wake them up once more. He'd recovered quite quickly.

"I told her not to say that..." Robin watched the noblewoman go. She had taught Maribelle quite a bit of slang not appropriate for a woman of her station, but never had she gone low enough to cover vulgar phrases. Though at seeing Vaike's poorly-stifled laughter, she had a good idea of who _had._

"Hm," Robin continued, coming to terms with the fact that she would need to find something to do with her evening. She thought about asking Chrom if they could spend a few quiet hours with just them and the children. "Well, I suppose we could..."

She began to pitch the idea just as her eyes found Lucina ahead of them.

"Inigo!" she exclaimed as she found her cheeks pinched into a smile by the camp philanderer. "Ret go uh ma FAFE!"

Robin could only be glad for the boy that neither his father nor Lucina's were looking at him. The poor sod would find two weapons in his chest at once: the lance of a disapproving father and the holy sword of a murderous one.

She decided to direct her attention to Morgan, thinking surely he would be keen on spending some time with his parents regaining memories. Though she found that he, too, was already busy with his friends.

"Flamingo punch!" he shouted as he ran through the fields with the other two members of the Justice Alliance. Or was it Justice Cabal?

"My sword hand twitches..." Owain groaned with conviction from nearby, evidently sensing a threat. Or perhaps it was just Cynthia sneaking up behind him.

"Why don't we catch up with the rest of the adults?" Robin suggested. Clearly, there was no room for the parents in the group of children.

"A fine idea," Chrom concurred. With a nod of his head towards the Shepherds ahead of them, he gently put an arm around his wife and guided them forward.

* * *

It wasn't until Chrom and Robin were standing amidst their army, completely lacking in orientation and at a loss for who they should talk to that they realized: It had been too long since they had really spoken with their friends.

Between finding Lucina, training Lucina, finding Morgan, finding ways to cope with Morgan's amnesia, all whilst leading an army through a _continent-wide war_ and trying to keep above ground, the couple had lost themselves. Lost in bonding with and protecting their children, lost in wars of the conscience regarding the dichotomy of themselves in the present and the future, lost in wars of the physical world, lost in maps and weaponry and budgets and lost in their own army – figuratively...

And now literally.

Chrom cleared his throat uncomfortably as he edged closer to Robin's side. They both glanced through the crowds cautiously. No one seemed to have noticed yet that they were there. Robin opened her mouth, a strained breath of air coming from words she couldn't think of escaping her throat. The noises around them – the wheels of the storage wagons, the marching of armored feet, the relaxed chatter of those blessed with the ability to think up conversations – drowned out their own thoughts.

"Hey Chrom!" called a voice, the voice of a savior, from behind them. Both turned around hopefully, and they were quite glad and relieved to see Stahl approaching them with a smile. "Robin! How's it going?" He spoke like an acquaintance they hadn't seen in too long a period of time. Perhaps that was somewhat fitting.

As the knight in green approached their sides, his hand lazily raised itself to his nose. Once, twice his index finer scratched the tip before his hand raised further and ran through his messy hair, as though it were trying to make the scratching seem like a detour on the way to primping rather than a nervous habit. Unfortunately for him, Robin knew him better than that.

"We're doing fine, Stahl," the tactician answered him with a warm, knowing smile. "What do you need?"

"What?" The knight's mouth hung slightly ajar. He must've had a whole lead-in planned to his question that Robin had just negated...

"You scratched your nose. You always do that before you ask for something." Clearly there are some things one can never forget about their friends, no matter how long they've been apart.

A beat followed in which Stahl blinked, forgetting just how well Robin knew how to read those around her. A guilty smile appeared on his face as he chuckled lightheartedly, "Heh, you caught me! I just wanted to ask about-"

"Why does my waist feel so light?" Robin muttered aloud, the realization hitting her suddenly. Chrom eyed her funnily as her hands raised to her hips and began to pat about as she tried to remain halfway attentive to Stahl. Her sword was there, her tome...

"I wanted to ask about the route we're-" Stahl attempted to continue.

Her item pouch! That's what was missing! "Blast!" cried Robin, her hand clenching at the empty belt loop through which she usually tried the drawstrings of her pouch. The velvet bag with her vulnaries, souvenirs from her travels, and gifts from her friends was always finding a way to leave its place – a fact Miriel had noticed years ago. In fact, she had gifted Robin the very pouch that had just been lost after the tactician had given her her old one. Robin knew she had to find it. "My pouch is gone again! I'll be right back."

Off she scurried, back in the direction they'd come from to retrace her steps. Chrom and Stahl remained behind, a bit stunned by her sudden departure. However, Stahl had mentioned something about the route; Chrom could answer such a question. Even if he was supposed to be avoiding business...

"You were saying Stahl?" the prince asked nonetheless. His soldiers and their needs came first, before any plans (or rather _orders_ ) to let go of battle worries.

"I wanted to ask her about the route we're taking," replied Stahl. Slowly, he unsheathed his sword to reveal cracked and dulled silver. "I need to buy a new sword. Mine is... well..." He turned his sword this way and that with a disproving look of embarrassment on his face. Chrom was surprised the weapon was still in one piece.

"Cut up one too many Risen, did you?" he joked, a smile and a chuckle accompanying it.

"I don't know if I'd say that!"

"We'll be camping near a village tonight. We'll see to it that we buy you a new when we go shopping tomorrow morning." Chrom took the dulled weapon off the knight's hands. He'd have to bring it to the storage Frederick had set up for sellables. He, Robin, and Frederick had been keeping a close watch on making sure nothing went to waste. It wasn't the the army was _in a bind_ for gold after all the costs of war. They were simply... moderately constrained.

Of course, he would tell Stahl nothing of this. There was no reason to worry the soldiers. They would be fine... For now.

"For now, go fetch an iron sword from one of the wagons. They're there for emergencies like this." Chrom gestured towards one of the horse drawn storage wagons for transporting their goods. It was rattling through the meadows on the back of a horse pulling it with ease, and the prince hoped no one could tell this was due to it being emptier than usual. Normally getting a horse to pull a heavy wagon off a trail, through grass and pebbles, was much more of a challenge.

"Yes, sir!" Stahl smiled and gave a two-fingered solute before turning around and heading after his new sword.

Chrom watched his friend go, realizing he was alone once more. In the distance, he could see Robin had circled her way forward to Miriel and had found her pouch. He could see them speaking to one another, and realized he should be doing the same with someone. But with whom?

And how? There was so much else to worry about... How would they be able to beat Fort Steiger? They knew almost nothing of Say'ri's allies in the Resistance, so how could they be factored in or counted on? What if gold ran out before then? How could he support his soldiers? His children?

He contemplated turning back, pulling rank on Frederick and Virion, being sensible, and insisting he keep working on the plans. Robin would still have her break – she deserved it, but he couldn't bear it to aimlessly walk around waiting for someone to chat with while war was wa-

"Hey, Blue!"

Or perhaps he'd need to wait one more minute.

"Hello, Gaius," Chrom replied, turning his head to see the read-haired assassin coming his way. He looked so relaxed, arms behind his head, a sucker in his mouth... Chrom was beginning to remember why he'd picked out this man in particular to help him get a taste of freedom; the man always seemed to remain relaxed.

"Heard you're taking the day off," said Gaius, removing the lollipop from his mouth as he awaiting confirmation from the prince.

"How could you possibly have heard that already?" Chrom asked, appalled that the news could've spread so quickly. It hadn't been more than five minutes, and he'd only spoken with Stahl. Now that word was out, it would be harder to back out...

"You're forgetting I'm married to your wife's stalker," Gaius explained in short, his tone lowering.

"Ah."

" _And_ ," the red-head continued, picking up where he'd left off before mentioning Tharja."I happened to hear you tell Belly we'll be passing through a village on the way to Fort Steiger."

It took Chrom only a quick moment to register just who Gaius had meant. Keeping up with his crazy nicknames was a hassle, but it was one he was as good as used to. "Stahl is in even better shape than you are," he said. "I hardly think that's an appropriate nickname for him."

Gaius continued on as if he'd not heard the criticism. "So I thought me and you might hit the pub once we get there, seeing as how you had so much fun last time!"

Chrom's stomach sank. Pub outings normally began shortly after sundown and ran late enough that one neither went to bed early nor remembered going to bed at all. That left him only the roughly hour-long march to get some more planning squeezed in. It wasn't enough time. And in the morning? He needed to be fit.

Besides that, he, Robin, and Frederick had already decided to cut ale out of the camp budget (citing the mental and physical well-being of the soldiers) in an attempt to save gold where they could. Getting the soldiers re-accustomed to frivolous drinking would do them no good in the long run.

"Plus," Gaius continued in a dissatisfied tone. "Ever since the Prohibition Act that wife of yours is forcing us to suffer through, I'm in serious need of something... 'anti-prohibition.' And you know I can't afford it unless some sap foots the bill."

'Bill.' The word sent shivers down the lord's spine. " _Our_ new rule is for everyone's own good," he jumped to his wife's defense, hoping to make his answer to the invite clear. Though for good measure he added, " And I don't have time. I need to get back to work."

"You're working yourself to death, Blue!" Gaius threw his hands slightly upwards in exasperation.

"It's my duty as our general!"

"I saw you eating an _unpeeled orange_ the other day! I know you've got a heavy burden to bear, but your brain is about as fried as those eggs I made this morning, which you _didn't eat any of._ I'm pretending not to take personally, but on the inside I'm a river of tears." Gaius ended on a dramatic note, gripping Chrom hard on the shoulder and shooting him a faked look of hurt. "What do you say? Make me feel better and let us go to the pub?"

"Gaius-" Chrom attempted to protest.

"See you tonight!" Before the prince could say anything back, Gaius was already on his way.

"Gaius!" Chrom called after him. Of course he _wanted_ to go... But he couldn't afford to be as carefree as the other soldiers.

"And it's because he eats so much."

The topic switch threw Chrom long enough for the assassin to put some more distance between them. "What?" he called after him, confused.

"His nickname. Belly."

Chrom let out a small chuckle. A fitting nickname for Stahl after all...

It did irk him to be completely ignored and forced around by his ally, but after further consideration, he remembered why the man always disregarded him. It wasn't out of rudeness, but rather to remind him of the first lesson he'd been taught by the ginger: there was nothing keeping him back but his own ego and self-indulgence.

Someone needed to plan, but he could trust Frederick and Virion for now, right? Would it be so bad if he pushed planning off until tomorrow? After all, he'd still have two more days to strategize until the point of exhaustion then. Perhaps... perhaps an outing with friends might not be _so_ bad.

* * *

At the same time, Robin found herself on the other side of the march. A small, red pouch was clutched in her hands. She ran her fingers along the smooth velvet to feel around for her most treasured items she'd stored amidst the rare salves and elixirs: the rough outline of a handmade pendant, a small fig seed that rolled between her fingertips and the bunched fabric around it, and a small piece of folded parchment whose calligraphy Robin knew by heart - "𝓒𝓻𝓮𝓹𝓾𝓼𝓬𝓾𝓵𝓮: 𝓭𝓾𝓼𝓴 𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽, 𝓯𝓻𝓸𝓶 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓐𝓻𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓮𝓲𝓬 '𝓬𝓻𝓮𝓹𝓾𝓼𝓬𝓾𝓵𝓾𝓶'."

She breathed a sigh of immense relief knowing nothing had been lost, and she had Miriel to thank for that.

"Thank you for finding it again, Miriel," she thanked the sage next to her with sincerity. She was already fastening the drawstrings of her pouch back onto the loop of her belt.

"You're most welcome," replied Miriel with a slight smile and an adjustment of her glasses. "Though I would consider fastening it differently, were I you. My mother taught me that deranged is to repeat the same action repeatedly and nevertheless expect varying outcomes."

"I'm not deranged. Just... lacking better methods." Robin pulled the black strings tight, ensuring they'd not break again from her belt. She smiled guiltily at her friend's suggestion, but she knew she would find no other method of keeping her keepsakes safe that would be enough. Having those tokens of friendship right at her hip, right above her sword was where it was best. It served as a reminder for why she was fighting.

"But thank you. I'll keep a better eye on it."

* * *

After finishing up with Miriel, Robin had seen Chrom was busy once more talking to Gaius. Normally, she'd have returned to his side, but they seemed to be getting along just fine on their own. She had no interest in butting in.

Thus, she decided to pay some old friends an honest visit. It's been far too long since she'd met up with her former "pegasus sisters" and current book club (though they'd recently been on hiatus, or at least Robin had). Perhaps an indepth discussion on the latest novel sold at the stands could get her mind off of work... Sumia and Cordelia were always good for that.

It wasn't hard to spot the two pegasus knights in the crowd, especially not when they were standing with Olivia, with her bright hair, and Ricken, with his distinguishable hat, and listening in as the dancer told one of her famous folk tales.

"And from deep within the castle, the prince heard a cracking."

A smile came to Robin's face as Olivia's voice reached her ears. Her 'scary' voice floated into the tactician's ears and temporarily took the place of the sound of internal thoughts and a mental taking of inventory. With her arm around Ricken like an older sister, Olivia leaned in towards his face with an ominous smile. Sumia and Cordelia stood next to the her, slight giggles coming from them as they watched the blood draining from the poor boy's face. They looked engrossed in the story as well.

"Crack... crack... crack... Louder and louder it grew, like teeth snapping through bones. Was it a cannibal gnawing his helpless victims' bodies while they still lived?" Olivia's violet eyes feigned shock and fear. Robin had missed hearing the theatrics in her voice when she told such tales. "Or perhaps a great beast was prowling the dungeons? Or maybe..."

Olivia paused, adding contemplation for dramatic effect. Robin had been by Olivia's side one too many times as she told this story to others, and she knew exactly where it was heading. With a devious glint in her eyes, the tactician began to creep up behind Ricken, unseen and unheard as Olivia continued.

"No, the prince almost didn't dare to think it!" Ricken's eyes widened and his body stiffened as theatrical fear weaved its way into the teller's voice. Robin made her way closer to the young boy. "Maybe it was a great... big... wretched-"

"Ghost!"

"AHH!" Ricken would've jumped half his own height into the air had Robin's fingers not slammed onto his shoulders to scare him. It was a cheap trick, but hearing his and the other girls' shock had managed to put a devious grin on her face

"Haha! Robin!" Olivia laughed, less fazed than the rest. She seemed more happy to see her friend than anything.

"Robin!" Sumia and Cordelia, the latter with a frightened hand over her heart, each let out a jagged breath or two before breaking into smiles as well.

"I'm sorry, Ricken," Robin apologized to the young boy with a chuckle. She fell into the habit of rubbing his head where it wasn't covered by his hat (he'd finally gotten her to stop pinching his cheeks). "I've heard that story too many times myself. I wanted to know what delivering the scare felt like."

Ricken nodded his head and regained his bearings as Sumia asked kindly, "What are you doing up here Robin?"

"We all expected you to be strategizing in the back before a battle like this," Cordelia added, her red eyebrows raised in the middle.

"Yes, well... Chrom and I decided to take a short break," Robin said through sighs as if trying to breath all her worries out of her mouth. Shockingly, it didn't work. In fact, it did little more than make her voice sound thoroughly disheartened by her own words.

Ricken looked positively shocked. He clutched his tome tighter and with wide, innocent brown eyes insisted, "But you and Chrom never take breaks!"

"Under normal circumstances, no," Robin agreed. She liked to work. It gave her things to focus on, and she felt in control. And when she felt in control, she felt safer and less worried. Working was... therapeutic. Especially when she got to work with her husband and friends! "But Virion and the others did some arm twisting."

"Oh."

It was true that getting to enjoy the falling of dusk, to breath in the light breeze and the smell of the meadow was a nice change of pace. However, every second that she wasn't using to help plan for Fort Steiger seemed to be wasted time. She absent-mindedly wrung her wrists and tried to settle her anxious nerves, but not even the lighthearted chatter with her friends could completely silence the nagging, never-tiring voice of a strategist in her head.

"The only thing is, I'm not quite sure what to do!" she laughed distractedly. _Go find Frederick. What if he doesn't remember to consider the extra bulk of the carriages after we go shopping tomorrow morning? What if he doesn't account for that in the schedule?_ She tried to ignore her inner monologue as she continued. "I haven't had a free moment in far too long."

"Well, you're welcome to come chat with us!" Olivia flashed her friend a beautiful smile and pulled her up between herself and Sumia. "We've missed you!"

"Yeah!" the other three chimed in.

"You don't perchance feel like cuddling up with a good book on your free evening, do you?" Sumia asked. Those words came as music to Robin's ears! "I've been reading a lot with Cynthia and Henry lately. I have so many recommendations I've been wanting to give you! Mostly horror..."

"Did I ever give you that new romance novel to read?" Cordelia asked, interest and excitement bringing lilts to her voice. She leaned forward from Sumia's other side so as to look Robin in the eyes.

"The one with the boy who became a knight in order to see the princess again?" Robin vaguely remembered reading such a book during her pregnancy. Surely her delicate emotional state at the time had been the only reason she'd so avidly read the tale of the trapped princess and her forbidden friendship with the young noble boy. And only such a hopeless romantic as Cordelia would put such a book in her hands.

"Yes!" Cordelia exclaimed excitedly. It must have been one of her favorite books. "I absolutely adored that book! When he finally sees her again after all those years..."

"Oh, Sumia, what about that horror story you were reading last week?" Olivia jumped in, leaving Cordelia to her moment of blissful memories. "The one you said Henry wouldn't stop talking about!"

Sumia gasped, recognizing which book her friend spoke of. "That was terrifying!" she exclaimed. With eyes wide and serious, she continued. "I couldn't put it down, but I could feel my heart shaking for days!"

Poor Ricken drained of color at Olivia's side. In a meek voice full of a failed attempt at bravery, he asked with a slight stutter, "W-What's it about?"

"It's about the haunted painting of a long-lost king who would sneak out of his frame and steal maids from their beds in the night!" Sumia retold, partially serious and partially dramatized to frighten the young boy.

"Huh?!" Ricken's voice softly cracked as his face grew worried.

"Oooh!" Robin moved closer to Sumia, her interest piqued. Slowly, the knot of stress in her stomach was beginning to dissolve. "Do tell!"

"Well, the story focuses on one maid named Marlis," Sumia began, gesturing lightly with her gloved hands. Her sweet face began to turn sinister (or attempted to) as she recounted in a deep, spooky voice, "One day, she was tucked into her bed after a long days' work-"

"Oh! I've heard this one!" Olivia jumped in, recognition dawning on her face. She turned to Sumia excitedly. "While the others were asleep, she hears noises from the hallway, right?"

"Right! And she's so terrified she runs off to bed and can't sleep a wink!" Sumia replied, equally excited to have a partner to tell the tale with.

"But the next morning-"

"All the other maids are gone!"

"HUH?!" Ricken looked in awe as he tried to hide his fear.

After another minute of so, the two women's voices had taken on those of performers on stage as their friends hung on their every word. Robin smiled contendedly and allowed the voices to take over her mind. There was no more war, no more planning, no more budgeting... It was just her and her dearest friends again.

Though it didn't take long before she was approached again. From behind, she felt a hand tap her on the shoulder. She turned to see Libra standing behind her, his blonde eyebrows pinched and his mouth serious.

"Excuse me, Robin. I'm sorry to intrude," he apologized politely. Sumia and Olivia went quiet as the whole group waited in disappointment to see if Robin would need to leave. "I wanted to speak with you about General Pheros."

 _What could Libra know of Pheros?_ Robin's first instinct was to drop everything and listen to the monk, curious as to what he could say. It could be he knew her, perhaps he knew a solid way to beat her... _This could change everything!_

"I-" She began, turning towards Libra and away from her friends. However, the feeling of tightness and guilt reentered her stomach, and this time it was not because of work. She could feel her friends standing behind her, holding her back through some invisible force. "... Later, Libra. Sumia and Olivia are telling a story."

She took her place in line again with a smile, the guilt in her dissolving. She even invited Libra to listen with them, allowing him into line right next to her. Right now, she realized she just wanted to be with her friends.

On and on the women told the tale – truly a frightening one, and even more frightening to know they said it truly happened! Slowly, more and more people found themselves hanging on the edge of the group to listen in until a small crowd had amassed around them. Olivia's theatrics died down slightly under the pressure, but she'd made considerable progress in performing in front of others.

The sun was a vibrant orange as it set over the horizon, and the story had been going for a good thirty minutes. The Shepherds were hanging on every word spoken, all creating a tension of anticipation among them, all gasping at the same parts. By the time Chrom found his way back to Robin, she was listening so intently to the part in which Marlis was hiding in the dark basement that the hand he placed on her shoulder nearly shocked her out of her skin!

* * *

The sun set, the tents were set up, and for the first time in weeks, the general and tactician didn't spend the whole night in the strategy tent.

Robin stayed in Sumia's tent with some of the other women, drinking tea Maribelle had made for them until much too late. As she listened to Cordelia tell a story, her hand idly went to her waist and grabbed her item pouch. She smiled as the keepsakes sat in her hands, tired but still conscious enough to feel a warmth spread through her chest.

In the village, Chrom sat at a table with his friends, listening to Gregor's outrageous tales of being a mercenary and laughing harder than he had in a while at Vaike's antics in general. It was a freeing feeling to be someone other than the prince for an evening. To laugh and to be... equal. It felt like things were as they should've been.

For both of them, it felt almost like old times. And for both of them, it reminded them that no matter where they went, no matter what they had on their shoulders, they would always belong at their friends' sides.

* * *

 **Bonus points to the person who can find all the references to supports in here ;) Also, does Cordelia not seem like the kind of person who would totally eat up the story of Silas and Corrin? Especially a Cordelia who married Stahl (see: cute, good guy knights).**

 **Also, the Justice Cabal is called the Justice Alliance in the EU translation, hence the reference.**


	25. Shh Easy now, girl I won't hurt you

**Fun fact: This was one of the first chapters I ever had a concept for. It's undergone a lot of changes, and I hope it's still good.** **It's cheesy as hell, I know :)**

 **I gave up on even trying to make sense on getting the kids together. My best guess is little groups went back to Ylisse scouting for 'em and brought them over to Valm to be with the Shepherds, so just roll with that idk**

* * *

 **Shh... Easy now, girl. I won't hurt you.**

"What happened?" Disappointment and confusion seeped into Chrom's voice as he stared in awe at his only daughter. There she stood, not far from him and his wife, with... Inigo. Smiling. Laughing, even! The prince simply didn't understand. "Just last week she hated him!"

Robin, however, seemed far less concerned. "You know what they say about the fine line between love and hate," she explained with a light smile.

"That it's too fine?"

"Oh, come now." Robin grasped her husband's shoulder as he sat by her side, a plate of food in front of him turning cold. Carefully, she tried to pull him out of his sour mood in the best way she knew how: gentle reasoning delivered in the most soothing voice she could muster. "She's smiled more in this last week than in the whole time we've known her."

Chrom's eyes remained fixated on the boy pursuing his daughter, brows lowered. The dancer's smile alone seemed to pull one in almost equal measure out of Lucina. "Yes, I know."

"She's practically been sprightly."

"She was sprightly before," the stubborn father protested. Immediately after speaking the thought, however, he realized even he didn't have any truths to back the statement up if his wife were to challenge him.

"Yes, dear. She was practically _singing_ as she took weapon inventory _alone_ two weeks ago," Robin replied sarcastically. "The _ecstatic_ crease in her brow nigh brought a tear to my eye."

"There's no need to be so sarcastic."

Robin let out an amused puff of air before leaning closer to her partner, her white eyebrows raising in the middle in a gentle plea. "Just be happy for her, Chrom. Inigo is a fine boy when you get to know him."

Chrom's eyes couldn't break away from Lucina and Inigo as the latter pinched the former's cheeks, making her playfully swat him away.

"Shh... Easy now, girl," Inigo's voice could be hear joking in the distance, holding his hands up as one would to a horse to calm the swatting girl in front of him. "I won't hurt you."

"I can't promise the same if you don't stop grabbing my cheeks!" Lucina retorted, a coy smile resembling her mother's growing on her face.

"And her retainer, by all laws of knighthood!" Chrom retorted with more annoyance than before. As the son of the Exalt's knight, Inigo was technically bound to serve Lucina. Frederick never would display such behavior with Lissa... In a lowered tone, Chrom complained, "You'd think Frederick would've taught him a thing or two about boundaries."

"I don't quite think we're in a position to judge on that front," Robin replied with a scoff. Chrom's glance finally left his daughter and focused with a confused expression on his wife. She stared him hard in the eyes, daring him to continue on a rant about propriety. Evidently it was too easy for him to forget just what Robin had been to him prior to their marriage. "Status has never been of concern to you before. Why now?"

He let out a slow breath, calming himself back down. Gently closing his eyes, he almost looked defeated. That is, until he continued.

"This is different. _We_ were different," he said, his voice calmer now, but still insistent. "We were in love! Based on trust and mutual respect. The only thing that dandy respects is her looks and the fact that she isn't answering his every word with a slap in the face."

Robin pulled away slightly, a slightly perturbed expression on her face. Did he mean to say Lucina had no other qualities that might have drawn a boy to her? Was he saying the love between himself and Robin was based on nothing but sensibility? And not to mention the implications about poor Inigo (no matter how strong a ring of truth they had to them)...

"I'm not sure who I'm most offended for right now," said Robin with a quizzical smirk. With the way his eloquence seemed to elude him when he worked himself up, he sometimes made winning bickering matches almost too easy.

"I can't talk to you when you're like this!" Chrom threw his hands up not unlike a child before attempting to withdraw from the argument. Swinging his legs around the bench, he stood up and left his untouched food behind him.

Robin couldn't help but laugh, partially incredulously and partially from amusement. It was rare she got to see him reach a point where his stubbornness ran out.

"Like what, Chrom? Reasonable?" Leaving her seat as well, she followed her husband into their tent just on the edge of the common area. As they entered the relative privacy of their "room", she tried to reason with him from behind his back. "She likes a boy. It happens sooner or later."

"Yes, but why _him,_ of all the boys in the world? In camp, even?" Chrom whipped around and gestured disappointedly in the direction of his daughter and her new... interest outside their doors. His face seemed less angry now as his blue eyes became tinted with a sadder, more vulnerable quality.

"She's such an incredible girl, Robin," he began, his expression softening – as it often did when it came to his daughter. He began pacing the room and waving his hands as he spoke, admiration and pride in his voice. "She left behind all she knew, she lead a country, she's almost able to beat me when we spar now – did you know that?"

"I did not," Robin replied simply, taken slightly aback by his sudden onset of enthusiasm.

"She deserves a prince!" Chrom declared with conviction. "Or – or a god!"

"She deserves whatever makes her happy." Robin took a cautious few steps towards her husband, carefully placing both hands on his shoulders as she moved in for her closing point. Her brown eyes bore into his as she said with finality, "Be that the god of all gods or her retainer."

Chrom had been beaten. He was far from won over, but nonetheless he released the tension in his shoulders and relaxed into his wife's hands, his head hanging and eyes closed in defeat.

Robin began once more, now speaking to comfort rather than to convince. "Listen to me, she loves you more than either of us can even fathom." Chrom stared into her widened eyes, his attention held.

It was true, he had no experience on which to base an understanding of love for one's father. From what he could remember of his own – a sword, a cape, a strong back leaving him behind to fight on another far off battlefield – all he ever felt was resentment and possibly hints of fear. Robin, on the other hand, remembered nothing at all of her father. However, knowing now who he truly was – the king of an enemy country, a worshiper of evil, and a man who lead an assassination attempt on Emmeryn – she felt nothing but hatred, disgust, and (like her husband) fear.

But Lucina loved her father; that much was clear to all. In her eyes, he was on the highest pedestal there ever was.

"No one will ever be able to take your place."

Chrom took a moment to stare into Robin's eyes, letting her word's sink in. She didn't blink or flinch; she was serious. How was it that she was always able to see straight through him to the core of his worries? More often than not, before he even realized what they were?

He let out a small scoff, the corners of his lips pulling upwards as his poor mood visibly melted away – slowly but surely. He lifted his hands to Robin's waist, gently resting them there as he began to take in the comfort of having her near. "You make me sound like an envious child."

"Well..." Robin's lips pursed as her eyebrows raised. Her point remained unspoken, but her face relayed every implication in her careful silence.

The prince's small smile morphed into an unamused smirk, and he replied with a lighthearted threat: "Just you wait until it's Morgan we're having to worry about! I have a sneaking suspicion your tune will change rather quickly."

"Oh, please. Morgan's practically an adult!" answered Robin. What reason did she have to worry about Morgan? It was only natural that he'd like a girl someday, she told herself. And when he did, Robin would be sure to behave maturely; doting and hovering did no good to grown boys. "He can do as he wishes."

* * *

"Morning!"

Robin's hands left the strategy board she'd been setting up at the table in the strategy tent, her demeanor visibly perking up. She and Morgan had taken to playing a tactical simulation game every morning over breakfast before their lessons, and she'd been setting up as she awaited his arrival. Upon hearing his greeting, her face had brightened considerably.

"Good morning, Morgan," she greeted him back with a smile that turned into a knowing smirk. "What traps are on the agenda for today? Should I check to see you haven't swapped the salt and sugar before I make my breakfast? Or perhaps you've swiped my wedding ring straight off my finger and have hidden it or me to find."

Morgan passed up his mother as she teased with him and headed straight for the chest of maps behind her. Gently, he rummaged through the many papers before stuffing one in the bag his shoulder.

Just thereafter, he was sure to turn around and pay Robin some attention with his usual chipper smile on his face. "Oh, nothing on the plan today!" he told her cheerfully before resuming his rummaging through the tent. Distractedly, he continued. "I was actually hoping we could maybe skip our tactics lesson today. Where is my canteen?"

"Skip...?" Robin blinked once or twice, quite thrown off by the notion. Morgan was normally so excited for their lessons... Not to mention, she'd just finished setting up their game. And what was that about needing his canteen? "Y-Your canteen? Morgan, why do you need your canteen? We're staying in camp today."

"I've gotta go out and find something for Nah." His voice sounded distant, almost as though he were hiding something from her. Worry began to grow in Robin's stomach; Morgan didn't lie to her. Not unless is was a prank of his.

"Find what?" she probed further. Her eyes narrowed in examination of her son, donning her 'threatening look of authority' she'd developed since becoming a mother. "How far are you going?"

"Ah! Found it!" Morgan temporarily disregarded his mother's question, hoisting a canteen into the air victoriously. As he lowered it and fastened it to his belt, he casually replied, "Not far. I'll be back before nightfall!"

Before Robin could protest or ask any further questions, the boy was heading outside in a rush. His purple robe flew behind him, followed closely by the flap of the tent and a call of, "Wish me luck!"

Robin chased after him for a few steps, her hand pushing the tent open as she called after her son. Though before he gotten too far, he'd turned around with an ear-to-ear smile. His mother froze, stopping just short of running into him.

She recognized the look on his face. It was giddy, excited, confident and somehow nervous rolled into one. She'd seen it before on his father when they were both a bit younger. _"With one word, you've made me the happiest man in the realm."_ Her feet went cold. Somehow she knew what was coming before Morgan had even said it.

"I think Nah likes me."

She hadn't the chance to even say 'Oh' before he'd darted off again, off on a search for – as she could only assume – something to win over the girl he liked. And no matter how she tried to withstand it, her heart sank.

She stood in place for a short moment. She didn't know what else to do; she'd planned to be with her son for at least a few hours. Now, there lay a game set for two in the tent. She couldn't go back in there – it would just be too pathetic.

Before long, Chrom had approached her from the side. Robin hoped he hadn't seen too much, but from the gentle way he rested his hand on her arm and the look of sympathy on his face, she figured he'd seen almost everything.

"I'm fine," she said, though a lack of strength behind the words made them particularly unconvincing. "I told you, Morgan's... an adult. I'm fine."

There wasn't much ability to lie left in her, so she hoped Chrom would push the point no further. She just needed to concentrate on talking some sense into herself.

How could she be thinking like such a child? Had she not had this same discussion with Chrom less than a week past? She should take her own advice – just be happy for her son. He had found a sweet, young girl to spend his time with. One that wasn't his mother... Though, how young was Nah really? Manaketes looked younger than they were in reality... Oh gods, what if she was far older than Morgan? What if he couldn't handle the maturity?

Naga help her, she really was turning into a hovering mother...

For as well as Robin could deduce Chrom's worries at a glance, he could deduce her thought processes almost just as well. The slight pinch in her brow, the way she poised her jaw, the frown that would look disapproving if he didn't know her better... She was fighting off sadness, and he knew too well by now that she needed distraction, not discussion if she wanted to feel better.

"Come on." He placed an arm around her shoulders and grabbed her gloved hand with the other. Keeping his voice low and comforting, he told her, "I heard Stahl's cooked breakfast. There's bound to be something good to eat."

She looked up into his eyes, soft and kind, and allowed a halfhearted smile to grow on her lips. She grasped his hand a little bit tighter, and arm in arm they made for the common area to eat and move on with their day together. Though a pit remained in Robin's stomach, worrying about where her son was going – that day in particular and in the days to come as well.

* * *

All day, Robin fretted over Morgan, hoping he would be alright wherever he was. She went about her duties distractedly, one eye always remaining on the horizon and watching for her son to return. By now, the sun was setting. He promised he would be back by nightfall, but still there had been no sign of him. She shouldn't ever have let him go out on his own, no matter how safe the area was...

Morgan was a strong boy, Robin reassured herself. She had no doubt he'd be able to handle himself. However, forcing herself to get up and focus on something besides him was difficult. Distracting herself even as the sun went down was even more so. Eventually, she resolved to retire to her tent to wait with Chrom, knowing he'd be able to calm her down and get her mind off things as he'd done that morning.

The cool evening breeze blew over her sweat-covered comrades, all of them just having returned from their evening sparring rounds. She bid each of them goodnight with a wave as she made her way to her tent.

Though when she got there, she heard through the walls her husband's voice, enthusiastic as he spoke to an unknown someone.

"... and before I can even distance myself, she's _opening_ the blasted thing!" he said enthusiastically, as if he himself almost couldn't believe the tale he was telling.

Robin awaited a response, which came quickly from a young woman. "Haha! She must've been quite confident in herself."

Lucina.

Robin hadn't heard much of her daughter's voice in the past few days, what with all the time she'd been spending with her new closest friend. The girl still insisted there was nothing between her and Inigo, but as of that moment, he'd been hearing from her more than her own parents. Robin simply smiled, glad Lucina was visiting her father, and she listened on. What could they have been talking about?

"Indeed," said Chrom, a slight chuckle in his voice. "And for her first spell cast, she completely obliterated that bandit in front of her. Even Frederick was shocked."

Somehow, this story was sounding awfully familiar. A smirk grew on Robin's face as she realized just what story her husband was telling.

"What happened then?" asked Lucina, her voice full of excited curiosity.

"Well, we managed to fight off the bandits," her father answered simply. "And the rest is history."

A short stall followed before Lucina demanded with a laugh, "You must tell me more than that!"

"You know the rest. You showed up yourself that very evening!"

"Only briefly! I left for Ferox the morning after my arrival. I missed almost everything!"

Robin herself thought back to the first night she'd spent with the Shepherds, how a mysterious warrior had fallen from the sky, how that same warrior wound up in the Feroxi Arena weeks later...

Now, she wanted to join in on the story-telling as well. Slowly, she peeled open the flap of the tent to see Chrom and Lucina seated across from one another, each sitting on a pillow near the double bedroll.

"You two wouldn't happen to be talking about me, would you?" she asked slyly as she entered the light of the lanterns within.

"Mother!" Lucina called, following her father's vision to see her mother and send her a smile.

"Do you mind if I join?" Robin was already heading over to the pile of blankets and pillows as she asked. She picked a spot in the middle, sitting down cross-legged with a pillow supporting her back.

"Not at all. Father was just telling me the story of how you two met."

With an amused smile, Robin cocked an eyebrow. "Really?" Such a story would be sure to get her thinking about something besides Morgan.

"This one finally beat me at a sparring match," Chrom explained, a proud smile on his face despite the defeated tone of his voice. "These were her terms."

"Haha! It was only a matter of time." With the how well their daughter fought in battle, both Chrom and Robin were surprised she hadn't beaten him long ago. Though both suspected she was merely dragging out their sessions all along in an effort to find more ways to spend time with her father. "How far did you make it in the story?"

Chrom answered, "We had just defeated the bandits in Southtown." Though Robin had already overheard as much, she pretended she hadn't been eavesdropping long enough before entering the tent.

"Ah," she replied, looking back fondly on the day despite the events in the village. That was the very day that defined the rest of her life. "That was when you invited me to join the Shepherds."

Lucina's eyes lit up with curiosity as she turned expectantly towards her mother. "What did you say?"

A low laugh escaped Robin's mouth as she answered in an obvious tone, "Well, clearly I didn't say no!" Though at her daughter's continued look which expected more detail, she continued honestly. "I said it would be an honor."

"Frederick was furious with me," Chrom said, unable to decide whether he found his statement funny or a troubling reminder of reprimanding. Likely, the memories of the knight desperately trying to talk sense into his liege were in themselves a mixture of humorous and harrowing.

"You did a good enough job of silencing him," Robin pointed out, reminding him of how he'd used insistence and put Frederick in his place. For Chrom, being younger and on one of his first real missions as prince, it had felt good to exercise his authority where it actually mattered for once. It felt even better in retrospect, knowing that it had brought him Robin.

* * *

The tale went on far past simply how Chrom and Robin had met, and the oil in the lanterns ran lower and lower with each passing hour. Night had long since officially fallen, but through the telling of the story, Robin had completely forgotten to worry about Morgan.

He came back two hours past nightfall, not a scratch on him, but a smile on his face as he found his way into his parents' tent.

"Wow are you guys still awake?"

"Morgan!" The conversation halted briefly as three heads turned to greet the youngest member of the family.

"I'm glad to see you made it home alright," said Robin, a tensity leaving her chest that she had forgotten was present. Finally, her muscles could all relax once more; he was alright. "Did you find what you needed?"

A blush – barely visible in the dim lighting – crept onto Morgan's face, accompanying a sideways smile not unlike his mother's. "Yeah..." he said bashfully as he made his way towards the group. He remained standing behind his sister's back as he asked, "What are we talking about?"

"Mother was just about to talk about Father's coronation," Lucina informed him over her shoulder.

"Ooh, can I listen too?!"

Robin removed the pillow from behind her back, beckoning her son to sit between her and Lucina. "Come," she patted the ground gently. "Sit down."

Morgan eagerly took his seat as Robin's voice continued, regaling the children with the story of the day Chrom became 'King' – though he was still referring to himself as Prince two years later. The subject of the story took over every few lines before passing it back to his wife. Lucina listened particularly intently, her eyes slightly wider and revealing her Brand. After a while, she began to feel drowsy and leaned on her brother's shoulder.

By the end of the story, caught up to the present, Morgan had fallen asleep on his stomach, head rested on his pillow. Lucina was quickly fading as well until her head finally rested on the back of her brother's shoulder and her arm draped across him protectively. The candles around them were burned down almost to their bases, and the moon had already traveled halfway across the sky.

"That's a good story," Robin whispered, careful not to wake up the sleeping children. She was met with a tired smile from the man leaning against her shoulder. "Don't you think?"

Chrom lifted his head and placed a kiss on his wife's cheek. "Definitely," he whispered with a smile. Gently and drowsily, they leaned their heads together, fighting sleep on one another's cheeks.

Robin laughed almost silently, almost giving into sleep herself. As she felt herself about to nod off, she was jolted back awake by the feeling of Chrom leaving her arms. She opened her eyes to see him reach behind them to the bedroll and take a blanket from the top. Drowsily, he shifted forward onto his knees to place it over Morgan and Lucina's sleeping figures.

A smile came to his face as he let the blanket fall, running his hand through Lucina's hair as he did so as though she were the most precious treasure the world had to offer - much as he did to his baby daughter at home in the palace. Robin smiled at the scene as well and stretched her fingers towards Morgan's sleeping head. Gently, she ran her fingers through his blue hair, eliciting a tired moan of confusion from him.

"Go back to sleep," she whispered, slowly drawing her hand back. Seconds later, his breathing deepened, and Chrom took his place at Robin's side once more.

Together, they observed their children – quiet, sleeping, and delicate for a change. As incredible as it was to see the might with which they could fight, seeing them relaxed and at peace (as children their age should be) was a lovely change of pace.

As Robin and Chrom leaned against one another and clasped their hands together, their thoughts went unspoken but understood. They met each other's eyes with smiles that calmed all their worries of the past few days. Come hell or high water, come dancers or manaketes, these children were born of the love between their parents, and that love had grown to extend between all four of them. That love would, through any timeline and any relationship, remain the strongest bond of all.

* * *

 **God I did everything short of end this with "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, and as long as I'm living my baby you'll be."**


	26. You have power like mine

**I've been really excited to write this since like chapter 12. This is one of my favorite songs on the OST. And how great that it worked out that I'm posting this on Tiki's birthday :)**

 **Also you know the theory that the MU's are supposed to be reincarnations of one another? Well if you didn't, now you do.**

* * *

 **You have power... like mine.**

"You have power... like mine."

Tiki sat across from a worried tactician, a branded hand held gently between her fingers. Sunlight and a gentle breeze streamed through an open window, though the mood inside was not so calm as out.

"I know," replied Robin in a muted tone. She had sought out the manakete moments earlier, having found her sleeping in this small room for arms storage. Slowly, the tactician had woken her up, and it didn't take long before the question she'd been burning to ask for weeks began to rise from her throat: Just what had Tiki meant with 'power'? She'd given the divine dragon her hand, hoping she'd be able to read something from the contact like a fortune teller, but so far nothing had been said that Robin hadn't heard before.

"That's what you told me at the Mila Tree."

Tiki chuckled lightly, sleep still in her voice, keeping it low and soothing. "Ah. Forgive me," she excused her slip of the memory. "I was quite drowsy when we first spoke. I'm afraid I can't remember the moment too clearly."

Robin nodded in understanding. Naturally, the woman was tired, and she hated to pressure her with questions she may not remember the answers to. However, not asking and remaining ignorant to whatever might rest inside her was no option either.

"What did you mean when you said that? Can you still remember?"

At Tiki's silence, her eyes still trained hard on Robin's hand and her face unreadable, more desperation began to sink into the woman's words.

"If you can I'm begging you, Lady Tiki, please tell me." Robin leaned forward in her seat, her hand squeezing Tiki's a bit harder. "I've begun discovering and noticing a lot about myself recently, and perhaps it's just paranoia and fear driving me mad, but..."

Ever since discovering her true heritage, Robin had begun questioning everything. Her coat – which bore the same markings as both Tharja and Henry had across their sorcerer's capes, her six-eyed brand, her father's history as a hierarch of the Grimleal church, her odd 'look-alike' they'd seen when last they visited the Plegian capital... Even when she entered holy grounds, she felt none of the peace that the others seemed to, nor did she feel the shift in mood when Risen were near as the others described. What made her different from the others?

When she looked at such facts, she couldn't help but formulate her own answers to that question.

"I fear your words have a very dark ring of truth to them. I fear..." She continued sullenly, but her mind halted. She couldn't bring herself to allow such a fear to manifest in her head. She couldn't speak the words. _Grima._ "Please. I must know what you meant."

Tiki's soft fingers ran down Robin's right hand, resting at her fingertips. Slowly, she began in a voice like even she was having difficulty understanding, "I can feel..." She paused, choosing her words with extreme care. "Something beyond you."

Robin felt almost stung. How could Tiki think an explanation would be beyond her? Even if it would be, did she not deserve to hear it all the same?

"Please, try to explain," Robin pleaded, her voice shaking as all self-control flooded away and anxiousness took its place. "I'm sure I'll understand if you-"

"Not beyond your understanding. Beyond your being."

Robin's thoughts halted in their tracks. She sat up straighter, her brows pinched in surprise or confusion. Beyond her being?

A somber expression fell over Tiki's face, eyelids sinking lower and leaving her green eyes saddened.

"Human spirits are a difficult thing to explain," she began, pulling her hands back into her lap as Robin did the same. "Though I've lived long enough to come to understand them. Over the centuries, I've come to see that human lives flicker out like candles, and their spirits disappear with them. I've outlived dozens of those I loved and knew well."

Robin couldn't help but pity the manakete as she listened to her explanation. Her words sounded more akin to a lament. Though a life such as hers – each loved one falling through your fingers like sand, like grains in a never ending turning of an hourglass of time – would harden even the strongest people. Robin wondered in the back of her mind if Nowi, too, would someday become so somber.

"Your lives are finite. Your spirits never grow in quite the way those of a manakete or immortal being would." Robin began to feel quite small, but then the corners of Tiki's lips turned almost invisibly up. Her face softened. "But they become large in their own way."

 _My_ spirit is one single culmination of my many years on this earth, as was my mother's," Tiki explained. Robin could picture the wisdom both Tiki and Naga had accumulated across their seemingly-endless lives. Such a vast knowledge and understanding of the world, such wisdom was surely what helped build their very spirits. "But when I look at your daughter, hers is a collection of what she's inherited from her past ancestors."

Robin followed Tiki's gentle gaze out the small, open window. Outside, Lucina carried a crate full of some supplies or another alongside Laurent. He was struggling to keep his own load up, and she graciously took some weight away into her own arms with a soft smile.

"I can feel her parents in her." Tiki finally allowed a full smile onto her face, tinted with an emotion unable to be read. Robin smiled back, though her gaze remained on her child. To think that any part of her contributed to making the beautiful young woman she saw outside the window was enough to make her feel honored. Though a small fear came with it – what else had she passed onto her daughter? What power?

The unread emotion on Tiki's face slowly manifested as something akin to nostalgia, further twisting Robin's heart into a knot. The older woman's eyes were far away as she looked at Lucina, clearly longing for a time long gone.

"I can feel Marth." The statement was not spoken unhappily. Rather, Tiki seemed almost comforted being reminded of the man she'd loved most, even if they did nothing to ease the sadness on her face as she continued. "Human spirits are a collage of inheritances and legacies. And bonds to loved ones."

"And what about my spirit?" asked Robin, almost worried to steer the topic back to her and whatever lay within her.

"Yours... is different somehow. I can practically see the bonds you hold so dear, I can feel a soul and a heart of immense kindness and love. You remind me of a friend I once knew..." Tiki chuckled quietly, looking down at the wooden table between herself and Robin as more memories came back to her. "Kris too had an indisputably good heart. But underneath that - that which struck me about you - is something much larger."

Robin's stomach sank as her brown eyes widened. Something larger? What did she mean?

Tiki's answer surprised her, intriguing enough to slow her panicked thoughts: "I can feel a spirit more similar to my own."

Robin blinked once, confused. "You mean something... more immortal?"

"Yes," answered Tiki. She clarified, again choosing her words slowly and with care, "Alongside your humanity – your bonds and your love, there is something larger and less finite. A... presence that extends through more years than a hundred generations of humans need worry about suffering through."

A presence? A timeless one? Was it good or evil? What presence could this be? There were too many questions fogging Robin's brain at once. She couldn't make herself even begin to speak. Rather, she stared in hopeless shock at the manakete across from her.

Tiki quickly realized the hint of fear on the tactician's face and quickly made to calm her down. "Do not fret," she said. "You've lost your memory, have you not? I'm sure it's a tie to some holy being or another that you've forgotten in your amnesia. Perhaps you come from a family such as Chrom's."

Robin thought about the brand on Chrom's shoulder, in Lucina's eye – proof of their sacred covenant with Naga. The Brand was proof of Naga's presence. Was her brand of the same purpose? But if their brands were truly of the same art – proof of a holy presence... "Why could you not sense a presence in Chrom?"

"It's been so many centuries, too many forefathers between himself and the bond to Naga. He has her presence in him, but that power has not the strength that I sense in you."

 _Strength._ Robin's blood curdled in disgust, her feet went cold. Her chest seemed too small for her heart, and it was shrinking, pushing down on her and robbing the breath from her lungs. Whatever this presence was, it was stronger even than Naga's in Chrom.

"Gods..." she whispered, placing a tense hand to her heart as breathing seemed to grow more difficult. Though when she realized just which hand she'd lifted, the one marked by whatever this 'presence' was, she lowered it back to her lap. She didn't want the source of her fears trying to calm her timid heart.

Tiki stretched an open palm across the table, beckoning for Robin's hand. With soothing certainty, she gripped Robin's palm as it was placed in her fingers, and she said, "You have nothing to fear, Robin. This power mustn't define you. Had I not said anything to you, you probably never would've known it was there, correct?"

Robin shot a glance at the mark on her hand. Had Tiki truly not said anything, she still would've suspected something of its meaning. But at least before the Mila Tree, she could tell herself it was merely a tattoo – some mark given to her by her father as part of a dark ritual. That wouldn't have been out of the ordinary, would it have been?

Not as out of the ordinary as it being tied to a greater power. _That,_ Robin would've written off as a fanatic idea.

"No, I wouldn't have."

"Continue as you'd been," Tiki gently commanded. "I'm no goddess nor seer; do not let these ramblings of mine cause you worry. This doesn't have to change who you are."

The words sank in, but somehow Robin didn't believe she could ever feel the same again. There was still so much uncertainty: What was the presence in her? Whose? Was it dangerous? Would it bring harm to her loved ones?

But she nodded. She could deal with those worries later. She had gotten the answer she'd wanted from Tiki, and now she just needed to sort through the repercussions. She had to find a way to make peace with all she'd heard and all she now knew.

Tiki spoke up once more, her voice remaining soothing and wise, but falling on ears that were beyond truly listening. "You remind me of Marth, in your kindness and fairness. Your wisdom. Your unshakable devotion to your friends," she said with a small smile. She looked at Robin fondly, hoping to calm her spirits. "Don't forget these things, Robin. These define who you are before anything else does."

It took strength and effort for Robin to look into her heart at that moment. To look in and see the love she held for her friends and family, to see the devotion she felt to peace, and to take any of Lady Tiki's compliments as truth. It was difficult to look for such positive pieces of herself when she knew not what secrets could be resting beyond them. But they were constants, true pieces of who she had become since waking up without memory.

For now, those were who she was. Until she could learn more about what lay within her, those pieces of her heart were who she was.

"Thank you, Lady Tiki," she said gratefully. She didn't feel completely calm yet, but hearing the words of praise did help her get back on the right track.

Now all she needed was a moment or two alone with her thoughts. A moment to get back into normal routine and remember just how it was she'd lived before. She was certain that with a strategy board in front of her, life would return to feeling normal again, and she'd be able to continue as she had been. It was as Tiki said: This knowledge didn't have to change who she was.

And she repeated that to herself over and over until she could trick herself into believing it.

"I think I should be going." Robin smiled politely, standing up to excuse herself. "We've a big battle ahead, and I should be formulating our strategy. Thank you again for your wisdom."

"It's a pleasure to help," replied Tiki as Robin left for the door.

Before she left, the tactician paused with a hand on the door handle. Barely, she turned her head to the side, over her shoulder.

"Please... Could you keep this conversation between us?" she asked, her eyes on the floor as she tried to force a reassuring smile. "The last thing I want is rumors and uncertainty spreading through camp."

The weak smile wasn't enough to mask the worry from Tiki, but the dragon said nothing of it. "Of course," she replied without worry or pity, sparing Robin her pride.

"Thank you." A ghost of sadness slipped of Robin's tongue, but it was gone in an instant as she pulled the wooden door open. "Have a nice afternoon," she bade Tiki before slipping out and closing the door quickly behind her.

Tiki was left behind, the sounds of training and bustle in the camp now floating through the open window. She laced her fingers together, stretching her arms out tiredly and closing her eyes as she did so. An image of a man flashed through her mind, blue hair and kind eyes.

A sigh escaped her lips as she leaned her head back down on the table, lost in thought as she fell into another sleep.

* * *

 **I don't believe for a damn second that genius Robin wouldn't have started putting two and two together and figuring out she's tied to Grima. I was careful to avoid her BEING Grima in this chapter, though, cause really no one could've foreseen that curveball.**

 **I hope my explanations of stuff were okay. I figure: Robin feels Grima's darkness all the time and therefore can't feel those shifts in mood; humans get a lot from ancestry, but gods and semi-immortal beings take more from their own long lives (like a collage making one image vs one big single painting).**


	27. Run all you like - you can't escape fate

**I know this skips basically the whole Walhart arc, but let's be honest we all do that to the best of our abilities in game to begin with. (See: *START* "Skipping...)**

 **the This song is a goddamn work of art, and it gets used far too little.**

* * *

 **Run all you like – you can't escape fate.**

The air rushing through her lungs tasted of torch oil and incense. Between each heaving breath, each pound of her foot against the rough tiles of the Plegian Castle, Lucina's throat burned a bit more.

"Lucina!" her father called urgently from just ahead of her. She was falling behind. With a deep breath of air, she pushed her legs to run a little faster. She caught up to her mother's side, hoping none of the enemies would be doing the same.

They had anticipated this. From Validar's curious personal invitation to Plegia to Robin's spying of armed soldiers in the shadows to the throne room. They anticipated it, and yet as they frantically ran from the throne room, they couldn't help but feel as though something had gone awry. Perhaps they'd been holding on to the slim chance that they would receive Sable uncomplicatedly, that their worries had simply been paranoia.

Whatever part of them had held that hope had been foolish.

"Come on!" yelled Robin, her cloak billowing behind her, flapping its dark colors through the hallways that seemed to match it. She needed to get back to the army. They needed her strategy, they needed protection.

Both she and Chrom, as well as Lucina, sent out silent prayers that they wouldn't reach their comrades too late.

* * *

"Someone should go after them..." Lissa gazed worriedly down one sandstone hallway. The rest of the Shepherds stood around her – all except for three. The mood was tense and full of fear, much like the soldiers were. All around, weapons were gripped below white knuckles, eyebrows were lowered over eyes that suspiciously scanned their surroundings, waiting for an enemy they knew was lurking somewhere.

A sound from down the stairwell at their backs startled them all to attention. It was the sound of rustling feet, armor. Soldiers.

"Frederick!" Lissa called to the guard, her eyes wide with fear. It was clear what his orders were.

Mounting his horse in one swift motion, Frederick barked back to Sully and Stahl to follow. They'd reach Chrom, Robin, and Lucina the fastest on their horses.

As they charged down the hallway, Morgan appeared by his Aunt Lissa's shoulder. Both of them watched as the three knights rode away, quickly disappearing around a corner and leaving the rest of the army to wonder what was happening to them. Without her eyes leaving the corridor, Lissa reached down and grabbed Morgan's hand, clasping it tightly like a frightened child.

"Chrom wouldn't let anything happen to them," she said. Despite appearances, she seemed to be trying to convince herself of that fact more than her nephew.

Kjelle appeared at Morgan's back, never more than a few steps away to guard him. Due to the increasing amount of danger the royal family was putting themselves in during the war, Sully was given the job of Robin's temporary retainer and Kjelle Morgan's to mirror what Frederick and Inigo already did for Chrom and his daughter. The commotion down the stairwells grew louder, and Kjelle readied her hand on her lance.

Inigo appeared beside them as well, adjusting his grip over and over on his sword. Nervousness rested in his eyes. Without words, it was clear whose return he was most anxiously awaiting. Were he a rider, he'd have been the first to follow Frederick and ensure Lucina's safety. But alas, he wasn't, and he remained behind to wait on bated breath.

"They're alright," Morgan whispered reassuringly, squeezing his aunt's hand a bit tighter. Whether the gesture was to reassure her or himself, he didn't know.

* * *

The knights arrived with the army's leaders just in time, and no time was spared for relieved reunions as the enemy soldiers materialized. Chrom and Lucina leaped off of Frederick and Stahl's horses as they were still in motion, charging straight to the front of the crowd with swords drawn. Robin remained perched behind Sully for a moment longer, eyes quickly examining the battlefield before hopping down and giving out her orders.

"Riders, charge ahead and go straight for the stairwells!" she barked, already drawing her own tome. "I have a feeling there are more reinforcements to come. Block them until the rest of us can pass, then rejoin us once we've gotten a lead. Tharja, Henry: You two know Plegian sorcery. I need you both to use any dark countermagic you know to keep their spells and hexes from us. Can you do that?"

"Absolutely!"

"Consider it done..."

"Good. Everyone else, stay together and prepare for a struggle." All around them, dark mages in purple and armsmen in red began to ready their weapons, their eyes on the Ylisseans like those of spiders on the prey trapped in their webs. They had made the catch, now to go in for the kill.

"They're not going to let us out these doors without a fight."

* * *

When at last they'd defeated the Plegian general, the Shepherds made for the door bloodied and on their last limbs. They had all survived, but just barely.

"Almost there!" Chrom called back to his army. The palace gates were just ahead, letting in orange and red light from the setting sun over the desert. They were so close to making it out without any losses. "The exit is just–"

And then, as if from nowhere, a change in the air. A thickening, a darkening, an aura that seized his heart and halted his feet in their tracks.

"Wait. Do you feel..." He couldn't describe what he felt in front of him that sent his blood cold, but he didn't get the chance to. He scarcely had time to glance to the side and back forward before a blinding flash of light appeared in front of him.

All in an instant, he registered the bright orange sigils flashing through the air, streaking across his vision. Never had he been so close to a spell being cast before – Robin always kept her distance, and he now realized why. The lines were hot, threatening to burn him though he wasn't touching them. A figure appeared behind them, tall and dark.

The thought, _'Validar'_ had only just run through his mind before he was struck.

Everything went white as he collapsed to his knees. He heard his friends call his name in shock and worry as his head spun and burned. Nothing was in focus; he could barely hold his consciousness. He couldn't fall. Not to this man. Not now.

"Run all you like – you can't escape fate."

* * *

 **Short one. I was a little disappointed that the story description for this chapter in the game had more detail and emotion to it than the actual chapter, so I wanted to fill in the gaps. Love this song, and like the chapter tbh.**

 **I've been playing along with my writing and started using Kellam!Kjelle and Sully to backup Morgan and Robin. Dual Guard+, Aegis and Pavise (in Kjelle's case) for when they take the lead... if this game had official retainers like Fates, these two wouldn't be half bad options. Not to mention Freddy and Tanky!Inigo for Chrom and Lucina ;)**


	28. ID Sorrow

**You all knew it was coming.**

 **Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out.**

* * *

 **ID Sorrow**

Falchion lay limply at Lucina's side, its owner's grip on it loose and shameful as though she didn't dare move it once more.

"There is nothing to forgive, Lucina," her mother's voice promised, her voice level and soothing. "We all get rash when we fear losing those we love."

"Yes, but..." Lucina tried to argue. Yes, she had feared losing her father, but she'd almost taken her mother to quell that fear. That was more than rash; it was deplorable, no matter what purpose it was intended to serve.

"Why don't you go rejoin the camp? Get something to eat and settle your nerves," her mother suggested with her gentle smile. "Your father and I will be right behind you."

Who was she to disobey now? She needed a moment as it was to clear her head, to escape the shame she felt under her parents' gazes.

"Yes, Mother."

* * *

Once Lucina was a safe distance away, Chrom leaned in towards Robin with worry on his face.

"Are you alright?" he asked with concern, holding a hand out and unsure of whether or not to lay it on his wife's arm.

"Oh, yes," replied Robin. Her face remained calm with stunning believability. Her only tell was her eyes, which remained on the barren ground. "She didn't lay a finger on me."

Chrom looked away as well, lost in processing the situation at hand. Somehow in bonding with his future daughter, he had forgotten the youth's mission in returning to the past – or at least her dedication to it. He never considered she'd go so far as to attempt slaying the woman she'd come to know over the past months as Mother.

"As I said," he began, eyes staring at the ground in thought. "I know her heart was in the right place, but to think she'd go to such drastic-"

When he looked up again in the middle of his statement, his words caught in his mouth. Tears were welling up in Robin's eyes. Her jaw was quivering. Her shoulders as well.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her cry.

"... Robin?" He reached out to gingerly lay a hand on her elbow, but she shrugged him away.

"No. I'm fine." She brushed at her eyes with the tips of her sleeves, pulling her arms closer to her. It was clear how hard she was trying to keep her face from falling, to keep the determination in her eyes. "I-... We're stronger than a- than a..."

Before a word could be said about scripted fates, her voice had broken and with it her facade. Her voice, her face, her body – they all seemed to collapse in on themselves as hot, bitter tears leaked out of her eyes.

"It's all my fault, Chrom," she sobbed through clenched, pained teeth. Her arms crossed over her stomach and her hands gripped the fabric of her cloak until they shook. "Validar, Grima, our children..."

She thought of the years Lucina and Morgan had spent alone, of the painful moment in which someone had told them their mother and father would not return, of Lucina struggling to hold onto a country she was too young to rule. And all of it, all of the sorrow had been because of Robin.

Of course Lucina had wanted to slay her.

"Shh. This world will be different." Chrom wrapped his arms around her shoulders as her crying continued to shake her body. Squeezing a bit tighter, he said with resolve, "I know you can fight him. I know we can beat him."

Robin tried to shake her head, but the tears on her face must've weighed her down, for moving in itself was a challenge. She'd already lost them the Fire Emblem – that much had not changed between worlds. If she couldn't fight Validar's control then, imagine how hard it would be to fight him when his powers were at a strength strong enough to drive her to slay her husband, her closest friend.

"We know what to expect now. Lucina's knowledge of the future has helped us earn a gambit before; we'll use this to our advantage. Hm?"

She knew to whom he was referring, and she couldn't say that Basilio narrowly escaping death was the same as the situation she found herself in. It was true that fate could be changed, but what if Validar couldn't be? What if _she_ couldn't be?

"No," she protested, teeth clenched and her hands soon following. Shakily she raised a fist to Chrom's chest and lightly pounded it. As forcefully as she could muster, she pushed herself away and looked him in the eyes. "No! You don't understand."

Nightmares had plagued her since she could remember. Nightmares of dark auras and horrifying evils, each leaving her in a cold sweat upon waking up. But once such nightmare, it seems, hadn't been a dream after all.

"I've had dreams – premonitions, or..." she began, struggling to put her words in order to keep up with her thoughts. She could see it so clearly, for she'd seen it enough times to remember: A flash of light, his face at her side, the syllables of her name cut off by a groan, thunder on her fingertips. _"Promise me you'll escape from this place."_ A sickening thud as he fell.

"I saw it. Everything Lucina said fits my dreams," said Robin with misery as a sob escaped her lips. She began to recount to him all that she'd seen, and she expected his arms to fall from her shoulders, his face to fall. His eyes did widen – with surprise or fear was unclear – but never did he shrink away from her.

"You can't possibly let me go along now!" Robin insisted, finally choosing to pull herself out of his arms. She couldn't bare to be so close when she feared her hand would slip at any minute to her tome. When she looked at him, all she could see were pained eyes, drops of sweat, and a bolt of lightning speared through his stomach. Her hands tingled as though they were joining in on the illusion.

"You can't give me the chance to-"

"I can," he insisted with finality, his eyes stubborn and serious. "You heard what I said to Lucina: My faith in you cannot be shaken. I trust you."

Robin began to grow desperate. Did he not understand the situation at hand? "But we don't trust Validar, and in the end _he_ has the control over me, Chrom. I can't explain it! It's..."

"It's nothing we can't anticipate," he finished for her, taking the moment to edge closer to her once more. Never did the certainty leave his voice nor his eyes. "The fiend is so adamant that the events are preordained; he'll likely do exactly what he did in Lucina's time. You remember the moment he took control of you from your dream. You'll know when to fight back. We can plan for it."

Normally such words, such reassurance as knowing there was hope to plan and take control would calm her far more. Today, they did nothing more than add to the feeling that she was falling below the waves of an ocean, running out of breath and yet still flailing in vain to break the surface once more.

Perhaps she could've handled this were it an isolated incident. Perhaps she wouldn't have been so quick to tears. But alas, this was no isolated incident. It was the climax of two years of mystery, nightmares, uncertainty, gut-wrenching discoveries better left uncovered, and seeing Falchion pointed at her with her daughter's shaking hand and voice behind it had been the last push to her breaking point.

"You can fight him," said Chrom, gingerly taking her hands into his and squeezing them with reassurance. "And I'll be by your side the whole time to help you. He'll not take control. You'll not lose me, Robin."

At the souring of her face as her eyes dejectedly shot away from him, he knew her well enough to know what she'd thought.

"You'll not _take_ me either," he said with certainty, pulling her closer by her hands in an attempt to make her really listen. Through her glove, he placed his thumb over a solid metal object on her ring finger. He could feel the outline the Brand between his fingers, a symbol of their undying dedication to one another. "We promised each other our whole lifetimes, remember? Neither of us will fall here."

Robin wanted to listen, and she wanted to believe him. And slowly, she was starting to. She knew that all he said was true. And yet something blocked her from standing up, wiping away her tears, and choosing to fight on.

She remembered a night two years past, the last time she'd stood before the face of an imminent disaster. She'd sat with Chrom in the strategy tent as his worry for Emmeryn built. He'd spoken the words (for the first and only time) that night that he was terrified for his elder sister, and she'd reassured him that everything would be alright – much as he was doing for her now.

Everyone knew how that situation ended: Fate found its destination, and Chrom found himself in her arms after Emmeryn's funeral.

Quietly, as if saying the words would break the last beam holding up her composure, she uttered those words: "I'm scared, Chrom."

She finally brought herself to look straight into his eyes, gauging his reaction. Through blurred vision, she could see a sadness in the blues of his irises and a gentleness in the pinch of his brows. It took only a moment before he brought his forehead to lean on her own, pulling her into a safe grasp by her shoulders.

"Then let me be courageous for the both of us."

Her tears had slowed to a constant leak, and when Robin closed her eyes the stream flowed harder for an instant, rolling down to her chin and falling to the grass below. How could anyone be so cruel as to make her take him away? As he always said, he was the other half to their single whole.

"If you fall, I'll be there to pull you back up." His hands slid from her shoulders down her arms to grab her hands in his once more. His voice was certain and calm, sending the smallest ounce of reassurance through her heart. "I'll be by your side, always. Nothing could ever change that."

Her crying slowed to a stop over the following moments she spent leaned on his forehead, and the pain in her stomach subsided enough that she breathe regularly once more. As they held their hands tightly together so close to his chest, she could almost ignore the feeling and the memory of lightning twitching around her fingers.

Almost.

* * *

 **It does totally sound like Chrom is about to say "Robin" when he gets Thoron-kebabbed. Go listen.**

 **No one in game ever even alludes to Basilio being alive before the big reveal, which is pretty damn awesome, but I wanted to just slip him in here so no one forgets: He's always there. He's always watching. Never forget Basilio.**

 **Also, the moment of "I'm scared" was referencing the** Such Bonds **chapter, just for the record.**


	29. (silence)

**Naming this chapter was problematic XD**

 **Another kinda sad one. Sorry. This part of the game is really kinda sad up until the motivational "My friends make me strong enough to fight Grima" part when you think about it... Oh with the exception of Basilio's epic rise from the dead. Not putting stock in that destiny hogwash was kind of a light in the dark!**

 **Anyway.**

* * *

 **...**

It was quite often that Lucina thought of her father – her true father from her true world. When her idle mind wandered, when she and the Chrom of the current world finished their swordsmanship lessons together... Sometimes just upon the sight of him she couldn't help even tiny, insignificant memories from running through her mind.

Standing in the hallways of the Ylissean Palace, her home, as a small child and feeling strong arms wrap around her from behind. She smiled.

Escaping the watchful eye of Frederick and running straight for the throne room. Although her timing must've been quite inconvenient, when she pushed open the door and ran into the exalt's arms, he gladly pulled her into his lap and allowed her to remain a moment in his arms.

She hadn't often been sick, but when a fever once had her bedridden, her father ensured he was at her bedside to see her to sleep that evening. She didn't remember what fairy tale he'd read her, but she remembered growing tired to the sound of his voice. It had comforted her more than any of the healers had. When he placed a hand on her forehead to check her fever, followed by a stroke of her hair and a kiss on her cheek, she felt safe and allowed her eyes to sink shut.

As she grew older, their time spent together was mostly with swords in hand. He first guided her with wooden practice weapons, watching over her as she copied his forms and repeated his movements, and they later moved to sparring with real steel. Her goal had always been to see the pride on his face when she would, at last, beat him. She never did manage it, but he never hid his pride in her either way.

This did not, however, mean frustration never took her over. All of their training sessions did not go well, and she distinctly remembered the pain she'd felt one morning as a young teenager upon falling on her back so many times it left bruises. Chrom had seen her exasperation building, and he called it a day a mere halfway through their normal training regimen. Rather than returning to his – undoubtedly – many duties he could've attended to that day, he took her through a hole in the wall of the palace garden to a hill just outside the royal property. There, they'd spent the next two hours simply talking.

"It's normal to have days like this," he'd told her, placing an arm on her shoulder. "When I was just a bit younger than you, I once got so frustrated that I took my sword and slashed through a snowman your Aunt Lissa had built!"

She'd laughed and felt his arm hug her closer to his side. She turned her head away from the view over the city and leaned on his shoulder.

"Don't mention it to her, though. She was furious, and she still thinks Vaike did it during one of his visits to the palace."

Their swordsmanship lessons together became rarer as she became more capable of training alone. Her father and mother both were busy. A new war was beginning, and she knew it weighed heavily on them. Once, she had been walking through the halls with her brother when they'd passed one of the council rooms. Her father must've been the last one out, shutting the door firmly behind him before he looked up and saw his two children, who both were all too glad to see him.

With tired eyes and a smile betraying relief, he'd shocked them by taking them both into his arms. He'd begun treating them less like children as they'd matured, meaning hugs had become a far rarer sentiment. But this time, Lucina could feel he was holding on tighter, squeezing her and Morgan closer to him as if he didn't want to let go. He'd let out a sad sigh, barely audible, and it was the children's first sign that the war was weighing on his more than they thought.

The next time he'd hugged them was, unfortunately, the last.

"This isn't forever," Lucina heard him promise her as they stood on the front steps of the palace, a mission to Plegia ahead of her parents whereas she and her brother would be left behind in their aunt's care. Morgan stood near her side trying not to cry in their mother's arms, and she felt a similar urge fall over her.

"..." She didn't trust her voice to speak when her throat felt so tight. She reminded herself that her father was a general as well as exalt; this was his duty. But did he really _have_ to go?

She wasn't as naive as she was in her childhood; she knew he was not invincible. She could lose him just like Kjelle lost her mother, just like Laurent lost his father, just like Gerome lost both.

Her father stepped forward and wrapped her up in his arms as tears began to push at her eyes.

"You'll be just fine, Lucina." The strength in his voice had always been enough to reassure her, except for this time. This time, she buried her face in his chest, hugging him as tightly as she could and trying to ingrain the feeling in her brain.

"You mother and I are so proud of you," he whispered, and she felt a gloved hand stroke the back of her head. She began to tremble, desperately trying to contain her tears. "Stay strong."

With difficulty, she managed to swallow her sadness and fear long enough to pull back and look him in the eyes. He put on a small smile, the first she'd seen in a while. From her left, she heard her mother reassure her, "Your father and I will be back before you even have a chance to miss us."

They left her and Morgan with their aunt on the palace steps that day.

And it didn't take long before only Falchion returned.

She'd taken the sword to the hill where she'd once sat with her father years prior. She had looked at the shade under the tree, no longer occupied by a father and his daughter. She had looked out at the city – _his_ city – now without their ruler.

Surely he had to be somewhere. Surely he couldn't be dead. It seemed only yesterday he'd been here with his arm around her shoulder.

Where was he?

From the recesses of her mind, Lucina's conscience had called to her that he was irretrievable, far away with her mother in the lands of the desert.

She'd felt her knees hit the ground as Falchion fell from her arms and into her lap. Her chest ached worse that it ever had as she'd buried her face – now wet with tears – in her hands. A scream released itself from her mouth.

"FATHEEEER!"

Lucina had always heard it said that one's life flashes before their eyes in their final moments. But she discovered at the Dragon's Table that this also happens in the final moments of another.

When Chrom fell, lightning dying out as his body slipped to the ground, everything came rushing back to her. Every hug, every smile. Every moment.

And it hurt to remember it all just as badly as it had the first time she'd lost him.

* * *

 **Secret sharing, sword fighting... It wasn't hard to imagine Chrom and Lucina's relationship.**

 **I had wanted to do a chapter to Chaos (awesome song A+), but there's another more important battle chapter coming so... Also coming up next: a kind of loose pair up to this chapter. Stay tuned for the second "half of the whole" -wink wink you catchin my drift-**


	30. ID Dilemma

**This song is so damn eerie and sinister! It takes Serenity and puts this dark twist on it that just makes you so anxious. I love it!**

 **Also sorry this is so late! I just took longer cause I didn't want it to be _total_ crap. I mean, this is the chapter where I'm having Grima!Robin show up. And that's not just "technically" Lucina's mom like MU, that's **_actually_ **her mom! So I wanted to get that "MoOoOoOoooM?!" POV in. **

* * *

**ID Dilemma**

From the moment she appeared, Lucina's eyes knew just who the mysterious woman was. It was only her brain that was unwilling to believe it could be true.

She looked exactly like Robin. _A sorcerer's trick, perhaps?_ Lucina tried to convince herself as her hands began to shake. _Or perhaps a ghost of your true mother, trapped in the room where she died and appearing across dimensions?_

But her eyes knew better. This woman was flesh and blood, standing before her and her parents not as a hologram or ghost but as a walking, talking exact duplicate of Robin.

Well, _almost_ exact.

Lucina could see even from the distance between herself and this woman that her face was just slightly more wrinkled, her hair slightly more silver than pale blonde. She was older – about the age Lucina's true mother had been when she'd left for Plegia and never returned.

 _Mother?_

Her heart joined in the panicked revelation as well, the ice of fear and shock creeping over it and freezing it dead within her breast. Her lungs couldn't seem to take enough air in, and her chest began to ache.

Robin – of this world – stood beside Chrom in shock, her eyes carefully locked on this woman as she analyzed her for differences between them. Chrom's blue eyes looked her up and down, a skeptical look of disapproval written on his face and covering hints of fear. And their daughter, Lucina – the one born of a Robin of another world – could do nothing but stare at this woman now claiming to be the one who truly birthed her.

Upon first glance, everything was the same. Even moreso than when she first saw the Robin of this world, she felt a sense of familiarity and recognition. She'd missed the silver strands in her mother's hair, the small lines she'd gained around her eyes with years of wisdom. She could see everything her memory had longed for in front of her right now, and yet... something had definitely changed.

Her voice was never this deep and taunting, was it? Her smile was never this sinister and sadistic. When she laughed, it sent cold jolts of fear through Lucina's stomach rather than making her feel content as her mother's laughter always had in the past.

"It is still written that Chrom died here at your hands," said the lookalike, her eyes locked on Robin as though she were a pawn in a chess game. A cruel, clever smirk spread slowly across her face. "Or perhaps to be more precise... mine."

 _Oh gods._ Lucina's chest felt as though it would implode. Over her father's yells of anger, her thoughts began to scream from within her head. This woman's hands... Those hands had been the ones to murder her father. _She'd_ struck him down, _she'd_ watched him fall. _She –_ this taunting creature before them – had been the reason everything had fallen to ruin!

This couldn't be her mother! She knew her mother had cut down her father, but she'd certainly felt no pride in doing it like this mystery woman seemed to feel. She had regretted it. She _had_ to have. Her parents had had a happy marriage; they'd loved each other. This woman spoke of his murder as though it had been nothing but another fly to swat. This couldn't be her mother.

The parallel laughed and finally rested her eyes on Lucina for a single moment.

Their eyes made contact, and Lucina searched for something in those brown eyes that she didn't expect to find. But in that cruel second of contact, her mind remembered thousands of moments of her childhood all at once, each appearing only long enough to be felt by her heart rather than seen in her mind. Those eyes had looked at her before. Despite the evil in this woman's voice, her eyes had not gotten colder or sinister. They were familiar. They were the same ones she'd known.

 _Mother._

Though she desperately wanted there to be, there was no doubt about it in her mind. This really was her mother. She tried to ignore the spark of happiness inside her stomach.

"When this _'Marth'_ of yours decided to come back in time..." Her mother spat her fake name out incriminatingly, as though it were an annoyance filling her with disgust. Lucina's eyes widened in shock and hurt. That small bit of happiness morphed into shame. Would she truly not acknowledge even her own daughter?

"I came with her."

All Lucina could hear after these words was the sound of her own breathing, growing more labored, and the sound of her heart pounding in her ears. Her head began to spin as she grew dizzy. And for one awful moment, the world stopped.

 _All this time...?_

The current Robin's voice was now nothing but background noise that Lucina couldn't register. The whole time, her mother had been there? For the past three years? For the year when she'd been assumed dead? She'd never thought to find her daughter? Not Morgan, either?

Her hurt and fear now morphed into anger.

Was it not enough that she stood before her daughter for the first time in years as a devil? Now she had to reveal she'd never been gone in the first place, but rather had chosen simply not to return?

After all Lucina been through – the hell in the future, even the good times with her younger parents in her life now – parts of her had yearned for her true father and mother every day. Even when it became clear her mother had been the one to take Father's life, she'd still missed her. She longed to ask why she'd done it, for she was sure her mother could explain it in that calm, reasoning tone of hers. She missed her arms, her scent, her smile... In spite of all she knew, she still loved her.

And now her mother stood before her once more, telling her she'd been alive and within her reach the whole time. And she'd chosen to leave Lucina alone? To leave Morgan alone?

Those lips had smiled at her. Those fingers had brushed so often across her forehead and tucked her hair behind her ears. But never in the future had that tongue spoken reverence of Grima. Never would her heart have allowed her to leave her children. Her mother was strong, kind and just. The woman before her was nothing like the mother she'd known...

Lucina simply didn't understand. What had the woman she'd loved become? Or had she perhaps always been this way, and her daughter had been too blind to see it?

" _Oh, my darlings. Come here."_ Lucina began to shake as everything she saw contradicted all she remembered. _"Your father and I will be back before you even have a chance to miss us. Remember how much we love you two. All that we do, we do for you."_

Lucina could almost feel her mother's arm around her shoulder, pulling her and Morgan into a tighter hug. Gently, she whispered into their ears before her lips planted a kiss on each of their foreheads. Her fingers rose to wipe a tear from Morgan's eye.

No. Her mother hadn't been a monster. Her mother had loved her.

So what had happened to turn her into this witch?

Lucina found herself caught in a miserable dilemma: To believe or not to believe? Was this woman really her mother, really just who she said she was? Did she speak a word of truth at all? Deep in her heart, everything in her being was trying to deny all that this woman said. She couldn't accept the fact that she could truly be her mother, despite the certainty in her gut.

Was she happy or frightened to see her? It seemed an obvious answer. She was terrified of what she was seeing, but despite that – despite all of the anger and hurt – in the pit of her stomach was the smallest spark of joy at knowing her mother was truly alive. She was alright. But surely it would've been better for her to have remained dead in the future past than for her to appear to Lucina like this.

She scarred all of her daughter's memories, painting them with uncertainty and the bitter feeling of having been lied to a lifetime long. Even now, all she spoke of was her own power, and like a sinister villain, she was thirsty for more. She wanted to take back her double; she wanted Robin. Anger entered her voice as she spoke of how Robin was evidently supposed to have chosen godhood over everything else.

Lucina had never heard her mother's voice take on such tones. They were cold and bitter with a spite that sliced all who listened like a knife. She wanted to shut her ears to them, the cruelness of this contrast to the woman she'd loved almost unbearable, but she listened on.

She spat out the words "pathetic band of servants" in reference to the Shepherds as though she were throwing them from her mouth, as though the people who'd been her family had been nothing but dirt on her hands.

 _I thought she had loved them._

But she'd been responsible for their downfall. She murdered their general, their king, her husband.

 _I thought she had loved him._

But she stood before him now as though he were nothing but another enemy on the battlefield. The same way she stood before her daughter.

 _I thought..._

But in that moment, a voice whispered in her head from the depths of her childhood, and despite everything, the sound of it calmed her. It was familiar, it was warm.

" _I love you, Lucina,"_ it said, an echo of a distant memory. _"Knowing I'll be leaving you tomorrow pains me in a way I hope you never come to understand."_

Lucina stopped herself short. She remembered her mother's words with clarity, having heard them the night before the one of the Shepherds' friendly marches to Ferox. Even then, before such a small parting... Her mother had meant those words.

Lucina was certain now that her mother hadn't always been this way, this evil. She _had_ loved the Shepherds, and she _had_ loved her family. What had once been a warm mother and an admirable leader had been warped and welded somehow into a devil. Her real mother had been kind and wise where this witch was cruel and devil-worshipping. Her mother had been strong with a sword, gentle with her hands, calm with her words. Never had she been... this.

"The fell dragon and I are one."

That much was clear. This was not her mother.

The second Lucina saw that darkness growing around the woman, she recognized it. Those glowing red orbs floating around her had been burned into her mind like a scar in her conscience.

The woman looked all too pleased, a fulfilled smile on her face as she became consumed by a darkness that quickly morphed into a burst of blinding light. Lucina had so much she wanted to say to her, to ask her, to demand to hear from her. But all of these questions – "Why? How?" – were meant for her mother.

But her mother had died at the Dragon's Table.

This woman, wrapped in darkness and glowing orbs like eyes, was Grima.

Grima alone.

* * *

 **Not totally satisfied with this chapter, but I'm already a day later than usual on getting it out. Also I've technically been done with it for like 5 days and have just been endlessly revising hehe. And god knows that goes on as long as I let it, until I just say "enough." So... enough. Published. Bing bang boom.**


	31. GO - Someone has to save you - ID Hope

**Going into Lucina's old world here. I used the Drama CD a lot here (again), but seeing as the 'old world' section is like 11 tracks long, I condensed and changed quite a bit. Also Morgan wasn't even in it...**

 **Since this is all one subject, I tried something new (one time only) and included three mini chapters/songs in one so it wouldn't drag out for too many chapters, so this post is a bit longer. The songs appearing are** _I mean it! GO!_ **,** _Someone has to save you from your good intentions_ **,** **and** _ID Hope_ **in case you want to have the songs loaded up on Youtube.**

 **Sorry for the rambling A/N. It's currently 2:16 AM and I'm exhaustedly typing as I'm half-conscious.**

* * *

 **I mean it! GO!**

"And now it is your turn... to DIE!"

Lucina's grip on Falchion steeled, the tip of her blade aimed straight at the beast charging toward her. Grima's mouth opened wide, his teeth surging forth as his red eyes set their sights on her.

A scream escaped her mouth as she prepared to penetrate the dragon's mouth with Falchion's tip – a final display of strength before the princess fell. If she was to die, she wouldn't go without leaving a scratch on the beast.

The wind from Grima's form rushing forward had just begun to hit her, her muscles were strong and ready to fight to her final breath. That is until another cry from the sky echoed in her ears.

"Lucina!"

Before she could register what was going on, a hand clapped tightly around her wrist. Falchion fell to her side, her feet left the ground. For a disorienting moment, she hung in the air, dust and smoke blowing into her lungs and through her hair, but with a quick swing, she felt herself lifted into a sitting position on the saddle of a wyvern. A familiar head of spiked hair sat in front of her, a dark outfit and below her – even darker scales of a wyvern she recognized all too well.

"Are you unharmed?" asked a husky voice, music to her ears.

"Gerome!" She was too worked up to answer his question, too glad to see him. Her heart was still pounding, still expecting to be swallowed up by Grima any second. She could barely believe she had... escaped! She'd survived!

To her left, she could make out the barely-shining white feathers of a pegasus flying beside Minerva, and behind its rider was also the faint gleaming of a longbow.

"Good thing we got here in time!" the pegasus rider said, a hint of her usual cheerfulness still audible as she concentrated on the skies ahead of her.

"We've always watched over you," added the archer, a familiar and oh-so-comforting meek smile on her face, though it was barely visible in this darkness.

"Cynthia... and Noire!" Lucina's chest shook with relief. Never in her life had she been so glad to see them. "Oh, thank you! If you all hadn't come, that attack surely would've..."

Grima would've finished her off if not for them. But now she had a second chance; certainly there was a good way to use it...

With a breath of darkness and a mighty roar, the fell dragon blasted in another wall of the Ylissean palace. The falling rubble unleashed a rumble like thunder through the wind, sending tremors through the flying children's chests.

"Why did Grima show up so suddenly?" asked Noire, her timid voice shaking in fear.

Grima had, since the battle at the dragon's table, been remaining away from Ylisse. His Risen – they were another story. However, it seemed almost as if the dragon himself had been sparing Naga's land as his last hurrah, but parts of Ferox and Plegia still remained untouched. Why his sudden appearance in Ylisstol when other parts of the world remained standing?

Lucina had an inkling it had to do with her and her friends' reappearance in the capital city as well. They were all there because of one event:

"Perhaps it was because I made contact with Naga," the princess suggested, knowing it couldn't have been pure coincidence that Grima had appeared mere days after she had spoken with his counterpart. She suspected he knew their plans through some divine method of wisdom.

"He thought to crush us before we could escape to the past?" Gerome asked angrily, the gall of the fell dragon unbelievable in his eyes. In front of Lucina, he clutched Minerva's reins harder.

Another deafening roar came from behind them, and a gasp from Cynthia closely followed.

"It's bad!" she alerted her friends, gazing fearfully over her shoulder. "Another one's coming straight for us!"

The roar came to a peak, followed by the sound of a fireball launching through the air, this time aimed right at the group of four. Gerome and Cynthia jerked their mounts to the sides and avoided the blow, leaving it to crash into the wall of the palace. Yet another chunk of the white stone collapsed.

Lucina let out a frustrated 'Tch.' "If we just keep dodging, he'll only cause more damage!" she exclaimed. "We have to do something about him, and quickly!"

"But there's nothing we can do!" argued Cynthia.

"My bow is useless," Noire added in agreement. Timidly, she wrung her hands around her bow and gazed in fear over her shoulder at Grima. "It'd be like shooting a stone wall!"

"He's simply too big!" said Gerome with finality. "How in the world can we fight an opponent like that?"

Lucina knew they were right. For four teenagers to take down such a behemoth was near impossible, but she couldn't accept doing nothing. Were they to simply run now, he would find them too quickly _and_ annihilate all Ylisstol in the process.

She turned over she shoulder to gaze at the dark dragon, her hand absent-mindedly grazing over Falchion. It was the ribbed hilt of the sword brushing up against her hand that gave her an idea.

"Gerome," she began, her voice taking on a commanding tone. "Please drop me onto Grima's back."

The wyvern rider tensed in front of her, only his head turning back in shock to ask, "What?"

"There's something I want to try."

After a short sigh, Gerome turned back around and steeled his gaze ahead, his hands taking the reins with more determination than before.

"Understood!"

Swiftly, they arced to the right and turned around. Lucina readied her grip on Falchion as they neared in on the fell dragon. Faster and faster the dusty air rushed over her face as they approached his back.

At the right moment, Gerome shouted out, "Now!"

Without hesitation, Lucina sprung from Minerva's saddle and landed on the rough skin of Grima's back with a thud.

A metallic _shiing_ sounded from Falchion's scabbard as he was drawn. Lucina took her sword steadily in her hands, readying it in front of her before turning it downwards and plunging it into the dragon's back with a satisfying snap from his skin.

With a mighty shout, the Exalt began to charge forward, dragging her blade through Grima's flesh along with her. Her feet began to pound across his back as she ran across its length, cutting a long gash across his massive body. Though relatively shallow, it was sure to at least injure him.

"Lucina!" she heard a voice approaching from just ahead of her. Gerome was swooping back down to pick her up. "Over here!"

A few more steps and Grima's roar behind her, she grabbed onto Gerome's hand and was hoisted into Minerva's saddle once more. Quickly, they rushed away from the dragon's immediate vicinity while Lucina caught her breath. Adrenaline still pumped through her veins.

"Did you get him?" asked Gerome.

"No. I wasn't trying to defeat him," Lucina explained as she sheathed her holy sword. "But an attack from Falchion is a threat to him. It should have seriously wounded him."

"Look! Grima's leaving the castle!" shouted an excited Cynthia.

The other three members of the group all turned their heads to see a massive shadow in the sky turning itself around, finally angling his red eyes away from the palace. If nothing else, Lucina at least felt slightly less hopeless now, seeing that the mammoth beast could be injured after all.

"It seems we at least still have a way to strike back, but all we can do is repeat the way things went this time," she said. With Falchion being unawakened, it made a definitive slaying of the dragon near impossible. "This sword is indeed-"

Her words were cut off by a horrified gasp from Noire. Cynthia's pegasus whinnied, and Lucina raised her head ahead of her to see the source of the trouble.

Ahead of them, the village they were heading for on the outskirts of Ylisstol was ablaze.

Lucina's stomach sank. That was the village they'd been trying to protect, the last one, the one where her friends were waiting and defending the people.

They would have to quicken their pace.

* * *

 **Someone has to save you from your good intentions.**

"What do you mean we might not be able to return?!"

"You mean we'd be stuck in the past?"

"How could you keep this from us?!"

Lucina had stood guiltily before her friends earlier that night, riding out the aftereffects of the bombshell she'd just dropped. Telling everyone there was a chance they wouldn't be able to return from the past if they decided to go would definitely have been a good thing to have informed them of upfront. However, like a coward, she'd feared their reactions, and she hadn't wanted to upset them. They had already been arguing so much over the notion of time traveling alone; what would this have done to them had she told them from the start?

"Everyone, let her talk!" Morgan had interjected, standing up for his sister and attempting to quell the shouting.

From the moonlight streaming through the window of the abandoned house they'd found to bunk in, Lucina had been able to see the cut-up faces of her friends, all either contemplative or aggravated. The ruins of Ylisse had sat ominously on the horizon, a grim reminder of just what was at stake for them all.

Lucina had spoken up once more, trying to explain the situation.

"Naga says that she does not know if the gate can be entered from the other side," she'd clarified. "And even if we could… there's no guarantee we'd be coming back to _our_ world."

Cynthia had piped up with disappointment, "Th-then you mean that even if we go back and change our destiny, we still won't be able to come back and see our real parents again? We won't even be able to see it when this world is at peace?"

Cynthia and Owain had been the most ready to go back in time, the most eager to join in the fight to change fate. Hearing Cynthia's disappointment and Owain's pensive silence after being given the new information had sent a knife through Lucina's gut.

"Why didn't you tell us until now?" Kjelle had demanded angrily, rising from her chair on an injured leg.

"I'm sorry," Lucina had apologized, knowing her friend's anger was well warranted. She had allowed her to rant further; Kjelle had earned that right.

"Spare us the apologies! What, were you going to tell us after we'd already left? 'Oh, by the way everyone, there's no going back now!'"

Lucina had tried to calm Kjelle and explain further, "It's not... _certain_ we won't be able to return. I simply didn't want to say anything rash that might have upset you all. Though, I'm not sure I made the right decision now..."

Nah, one of the hitherto undecided members of their party, had stepped forward hesitantly, speaking uncertainly. "I do think you should have told us, but... To think we may never come back..."

"Exactly," Gerome had jumped in. It was clear from his tone of voice that he was still on Kjelle's side as he was before – meddling in the past was none of their business, and they would be staying. "This is branching over from carelessness into blind insanity, Lucina."

"Gerome..." Noire whispered, timidly trying to keep another major argument from arising between the members of the group, as had been happening for the past couple days since Lucina's conversation with Naga. The wyvern rider brushed her off and continued.

"If no one else will say it, then I must," he'd protested to the archer before turning his attention back to Lucina, quickly gazing at the others who had planned on going back as well. " _Someone_ has to save you from your good intentions! You all are letting your pure hopes drown out your voices of reason."

Owain and Cynthia had remained silent, too lost in shock or thought to reply to Gerome's accusation. Inigo, as well, had remained learned against the wall, arms crossed and eyes introspective. Severa was the only one of the "ayes" group to have spoken up.

"At least we're trying to come up with a _solution_!" she'd argued, her eyes shooting fire at the older boy. "This world is done. Staying is as good as bending over and letting Grima skin your rear end!"

"A 'solution?' Is permanently abandoning your world like a coward the solution you seek?"

It was then that Laurent had stood up, weak from battle and one arm in a temporary sling. He'd held his one good arm up coolly as if to quell both of his friends' tempers at once.

"Enough," he said, hearkening back to the day he'd separated a fight between Gerome and Inigo. Though this time, thankfully, no wind tome had been needed to push the two perpetrators apart... "The last thing we require is another come to blows."

"Is there no chance we could stay here?" Yarne had asked nervously from his chair. "I mean, maybe Grima won't come back! Maybe he doesn't want to get hurt by Lucina again... right? Maybe?..."

"It would be nice to believe that," the princess had answered solemnly. "But he will certainly return. Whether it be tomorrow or in a hundred years, I cannot say. But without a doubt..."

She'd steadied herself with a deep breath, not faltering under the intent gazes of all of her friends.

"Ylisse has fallen. It's the end for this world. But there's still a chance." She had made sure to meet everyone's eyes – Noire's timid ones, Brady's damp ones, Cynthia's filled with disbelief and disappointment, even Kjelle's eyes, hard and angry.

"There's a chance that if we go back, we can stop this mayhem from reaching our parents and our other selves yet again. The lives lost, the destruction... I can't promise you all anything, but there is a chance. A far better one than we have here."

No one had argued any further after that point. The leader's words had given them each a lot to think about, and she'd understood that. Gracefully, she'd bowed out of house, leaving them to their thoughts until tomorrow's dawn.

"Mount Prism," she'd informed them. "Everyone who's coming can meet me there tomorrow at daybreak."

Now, a short walk from the house, she found herself outside, marching through the dark woods on the outskirts of a ruined capital city. There was still a place she had to say goodbye to.

Ahead of her loomed the dark outline of the Ylissean Royal Palace, barely visible over the charred treetops. An ominous shadow of the glorious fortress what it once was...

Lucina was merely glad it hadn't been completely annihilated, for she wanted to say goodbye to her mother and father one last time. It was always at times like this that she spoke to them, taking strength in imagining them watching over her as she stood at their graves. Heavens knew she would need all that strength and more for what she was planning to do in the morning, especially if she would be going it alone (which, if her friends' prior moods and anger at her were any indication, she would be).

"Lucina!" she heard someone call from behind her. Reflexively, her hand grasped Falchion's hilt and she felt her knees brace.

"Wait! Hey, Luci!"

Turning around, with her sword pointed ahead, she realized she recognized the young voice calling after her.

Morgan charged down a hill behind her, his boots kicking up dirt on the overgrown path. Between panting breaths, he called once more, "Wait up!"

"Morgan?" Lucina asked with concern as she finally reached her side. Sheathing her sword, she scolded him. "What are you doing out here on your own? There could be Risen around any corner!"

"Ah, please. I brought my tome!" her brother replied, donning on his optimistic smile. "I whip this bad boy out and become a Risen slaying pro!"

Lucina wasn't quite amused. The cracking of his maturing voice only reminded her of how young he was – too young to be out alone in a world like this.

"You shouldn't be so careless," she chastised him, her eyebrows lowering in much the way her father;s did during such talks. "If you'd been swarmed-"

"I know. I'm sorry." Morgan's smile faltered fro a short moment, realizing his older sister spoke the truth. It didn't take long for it to reappear, though, even if it was a bit weaker than before. "But I wasn't swarmed, and I caught up with you!"

"Why didn't you stay back with the others?"

"I just wanted to talk with you while we have a minute," he answered. Looking ahead, he gestured with a wave of his hand for Lucina to keep walking with him. "Let's keep going..."

A silence ruled between them as they trudged forward, the light of the moon illuminating the dirt path ahead of them. Lucina waited patiently to hear what Morgan had to say.

When he finally spoke up, his voice was quiet and uncertain. "Are you absolutely sure about going to the past, Lucina?"

She didn't need more than a second to think about her reply. She answered with resolve, "Yes."

"Because... if-"

"It's the only way, Morgan. For me, at least," she said, cutting him off before he had the chance to protest. She knew it was her duty to go through the Outrealm Gate; nothing and no one would be able to convince her otherwise.

"Father left Ylisse in my care," Lucina continued. "And I've failed in my duty to protect her in this world. But if there's a chance to save our country in another world, to save Mother and Father and all the innocents who've perished at the hands of Grima, I must take it."

No matter how small the chance, she had to cling to it. Never could she stop fighting for Ylisse until she'd done everything in her power to prevent its demise, be that fighting a dragon or going back in time. Her parents had left the duties of House Ylisse on her shoulders, and she would go to the ends of the earth to see that she upheld not only the responsibility of protecting her people, but also the honor of her family.

"But you're under no obligation to follow me, brother." She reiterated that she could go alone. No one else needed come along if they didn't so wish. "If you see it fit to stay in our own world, I truly understand. If that's what you wish to do..."

To imagine her little brother a world apart from her, never knowing whether or not he was okay... As much as she tried to play nonchalant, she knew losing the only true family she had left would be harder than she was willing to admit.

"You don't need my permission."

Morgan remained silent, taking a moment to absorb his sister's words. His warm, brown eyes blinked once, twice, before a ghost of his smile began to return.

"I was just gonna say if you're sure you're going, then I'm right behind you."

Lucina stopped in her tracks, taken aback. He was going?

"What?"

"Dad may not have left Ylisse in my care, but he did leave you in it, remember?" Despite the solemn reminder of the last words of their father to them, Lucina's brother wore a smile betraying humor and positivity. "What kind of brother would I be if I let you go all alone?"

"Morgan..." Lucina whispered. He would be coming with her... How he could make such a promise so lightly was a mystery, but when she reminded herself of his ever-present self-motivation and ability to see the positives, it wasn't so mysterious. At only 12, he was shaping up to be a model prince, and she couldn't have been more proud of him, nor more glad.

"Knowing I at least have you on my side means more to me than you know."

"Of course I'm on your side," replied Morgan, placing his hand in his sister's. "As if I'd ever let you go to another world without taking me with you. I didn't even want you going to the palace without me!"

Ahead of them, the castle now loomed closer, its shadow dominating almost their whole view of the night sky. The two siblings looked grimly on their fallen home.

"Did you wish to say goodbye as well?" asked Lucina, her voice sullen as it turned questioning.

"Yeah... to Mom and Dad," Morgan replied with his eyes on the ground in front of him. He grabbed the edges of his coat sleeves, a nervous habit that also served to remind him of his mother. Though his smile didn't return, his voice did gain a somewhat sunnier disposition when he thought of his parents in the world they'd be entering after abandoning their current one. "We'll be seeing them again soon though! What do you think they looked like when they were young?"

Lucina let out a soft chuckle. She had never thought about Father without his injury, Mother without the lines around her eyes... "I suppose we'll just have to see for ourselves."

* * *

 **ID Hope**

All of Lucina's friends had appeared at the altar at dawn after all...

The princes stood in the glow of the Outrealm Gate, an ethereal blue glow behind her as she faced her friends. She couldn't' have been more thankful that they'd banded together to follow her, even after all their fighting and struggles, even after her omission of the truth.

Even all of that wasn't enough to break their bonds.

"You all are sure about this?" she asked once more, paying special attention to Kjelle and Gerome, the most adamant fighters against this plan as of the night before.

"Even if I can't come back," Brady answered, also having originally been one of the ones for staying. "I've got no regrets. I'm gonna save the people we've lost."

Lucina nodded in response as Kjelle spoke up.

"My mind is made up," she said, her grip tightening with confidence and resolve around her lance. "I'm gonna protect the world this time."

When Lucina's eyes met Gerome, he merely sighed, though it wasn't necessarily one of sadness or anger.

"Gerome..." the princess began questioningly, almost expecting him to back out. "You were so dead set against this."

"There's nothing left in this world for Minerva," he replied, his face stoic as ever. "The few remaining wyverns have been slaughtered in the attacks. I couldn't condemn her to such a life of solitude. But to the very end, I do not wish to interfere with the past."

Lucina couldn't help but let out a happy breath. As always, everything for his wyvern...

"Be that as it may... thank you, Gerome," she said with an endeared smile. "All of you, thank you."

"Lucina." Severa stepped forward from the crowd with Inigo at her side, an object in her hands as she approached Lucina. "Before we go, I picked this out for you."

" _We_ picked it out," Inigo corrected her jokingly. He smiled his charming smile, a welcome sight after so much time. "My impeccable taste was desperately needed."

Severa rolled her eyes before continuing. "We found it a while ago, and bought it for you just in case you ever needed to hide your Brand. And now..."

Lucina had a dark black mask handed to her, which she took gingerly. She had never thought about her Brand...

"Severa's right," Gerome said, not surprising anyone in his agreement and practicality. "It wouldn't bode well for any of us to be recognized in an era we don't belong in, least of all you."

"I suppose you're right..." said the princess. The more she thought about it... "If anyone were to see my Brand, it could unleash chaos. Not to mention how confusing it would be to explain to my father if he were to see it!"

Carefully, she placed the mask over her eyes, fighting back a smile as she thought of just seeing her father again. However, as it came to rest over her eyes, she found it was a good many sizes too big on her, her eyes half covered by the material slipping down her face.

"I told you it wouldn't fit, you idiot!" Severa snapped at Inigo next to her.

"I guess my eye for size isn't so good as my eye for style..."

Before they could argue any further, Gerome coolly, silently fished along the inside edge of his armor. Approaching Lucina, he withdrew a smaller mask, blue and gold and presented it to her.

"A butterfly mask..." Lucina whispered, lowering Severa and Inigo's mask as she took the new one. "This looks perfect, Gerome!"

"It should keep your Brand safely hidden," he replied in his deep voice, humbly choosing not to make too big a show of his gift. "And the string can hold up your hair as well."

Lucina raised the mask over her eyes and began to fasten the string behind her head before Severa joined in to offer her assistance. Brushing her friend's blue hair up, she fastened the strings in a tight knot and stepped back to admire her work.

"How do I look?" asked Lucina, brushing her fingers over her fringe. The metal felt cool and secure on her face. It was a rather comforting sensation.

"Beautiful!" said Inigo with a dashing smile.

"Like a new woman!" Cynthia hollered from the larger group.

"Kind of like a boy..." Severa pointed out with her patented, slightly-condescending frown.

Lucina couldn't help but laugh, but she felt comfortable tears spring to her eyes. Before she could stop herself, a water droplet snuck out the edge of her mask as it rolled down her cheek and her breath shuddered.

Yarne noticed her tears first, yelling out with concern, "Are you crying?"

"Do you not like the mask?" Owain asked worriedly.

"Weird fashion's never bugged you before," Noire pointed out with a small laugh. "You always wore those strange dresses when we were kids, remember?"

"Yeesh, don't get your feelings so hurt! If it helps, I take back the 'boy' comment..." Severa said guiltily.

Lucina wiped her few escaped tears from her face, and a wide smile spread out on her face. Beaming, she looked out at her friends. She almost couldn't help but laugh a bit harder at their concern!

"No, no... I'm happy!" she explained with a light giggle. "Being able to be with you all again, to laugh like this... I'm glad beyond words that you all are coming with me."

"From now on," Nah began with a confident smile. "We're going to be together forever. We're an unbreakable team! You'll never be without us."

"No matter how far apart we are, we're always going to be one whole!" Morgan piped in with his familiar optimism.

"Exactly!" Severa agreed, a smile on her face and a spark in her eyes. "No matter how far apart we are, our souls will always be together."

Recognition dawned on Cynthia's face as she exclaimed, "I've heard that before! That's the motto of the Pegasus Knights, right?"

Severa looked bitten, even after all this time keeping up the facade of total aversion to her mother. "It doesn't matter!"

"It's a good saying," said Laurent, his voice uncharacteristically gentle.

"Yeah!" Owain cheered before grabbing at his arm. "Spiritual stuff like this gets my sword hand twitching!"

"It fits us perfect right now," said Brady, gazing with misty eyes into the blue light of the Gate.

"Yeah! If any of us ever feels alone, all we have to do is remember those words," said Yarne, his voice excited and full of hope. "Phew! Just hearing them makes me almost certain I won't go extinct!"

Lucina chuckled, her friends' confidence infecting her as well and making her heart swell with pride in them all. "That's right," she said amusedly. "I too will remember those words, always."

She gazed confidently at her group of friends, all standing before her with their heads held high for the first time in too long. Each of them was the heir of a legacy left to them by their parents, a blood-bound duty of the defenders of justice and heroes of peace. It was all too visible in the way Laurent adjusted his glasses, the way Nah gripped her Dragonstone, the coat on Morgan's shoulders, the Brand on Owain's arm, Brady's back held straight, Gerome's hand gripped dutifully around his axe...

They were the next generation of Ylisse's heroes. Their parents may have perished, but that was about to be changed. They would rewrite history, they would save their country, and they would take the world back from the forces of evil.

Just when hope had burned out, they rose, ready to fight and challenge fate. Weapons in hand like the valiant warriors of generations past, they dared to do what none had done before them.

Lucina gazed upon the wall of the temple and saw a portrait of a man she'd come to know well through history lessons and heroic tales, a golden crown on his blue head of hair and a holy sword in his hand.

 _King Marth..._ she prayed to him. _Lend us your might that we may save the world, with as much strength and bravery as you did before us!_

The Hero King's descendant ordered her friends forward through the gate, closing her eyes as they passed her and charged boldly into its magical light. Only when they had all passed through did she begin to surge forward herself.

With each step, her courage built. She was taking control of her fate, the world's and her family's destinies in her comrades' hands and her own and giving her strength.

No matter how grim times had been, the world's hope was not yet dead.

 _They_ were the world's hope.

* * *

 **Thank you to** _Fire Emblem (According to Japan)_ **on Tumblr for translating the CDs!**

 **Weird plot inconsistency: In Lucina and Gerome's support, Lucina says Gerome gave her his mask (which he somehow still has but whatever okay), but in the CD, Gerome actually gives her a ridiculous mask and _Severa_ gives her the butterfly mask to replace it so she won't look dumb. **


	32. Divine Decree

**I recommend the mix version of this song, if you like to listen along ;)**

 **Fun fact: there's actually a code to reading the runes you see in the game. Falchion's translate to " _Sniamer llits erutuf eht tsol si esle lla nehw"_ which reversed is _"When all else is lost the future still remains."_**

 **Also on Divine Decree (Ablaze), the normal length one, someone named mlmf2012 actually worked out the _lyrics to this song._ They're very well done and pretty epic! Check them out if you get the time.**

* * *

 **Divine Decree**

The sun gleamed off Falchion's steel, scattering a light fitting of the holy blade across the battlefield. Unsheathed and raised in conviction, its wielder called his men to arms. A small army surged forth, dozens of weapons raised and spirits rallied.

Chrom lowered Falchion and dealt his first strike to the army of Risen swarming Mount Prism, a first chip in the iceberg. His right arm swung down with certitude as his left rose to defend his side from the enemy's counterattack. A golden shield deflected the strike of an axe, withstanding another blow just as it had been doing for millennia.

With these two holy weapons at his side, the same strength at his disposal that had been offered to valiant kings of the ages, he would not fall.

He dealt another blow to the Risen before him before seeing it turn to smoke. Through the purple haze, he could see numerous other pillars of such decay rising in the air from around the battlefield. It seemed his Shepherds were vanquishing the beasts without too much difficulty. This was good. They'd not come so far to be brought down by the undead.

They were approaching their moment of truth, their decisive hour; he could feel it in every blow he dealt, each bringing them a step closer to battling Grima. By the gods, he would see them to that moment, all diversions and interferences be damned.

No matter what the Fell Dragon threw at them, he had Naga and her fangs at his side. More importantly, he had justice, and fate favored none if not the just.

So let more Risen come, he thought. Our hope will not be broken.

* * *

 _From a realm the eye cannot see, Naga observed the Shepherds with an air of calm. Onward they fought, and valiantly so, pushing ever closer to the temple for which they aimed. The green fields became sporadically clouded with purple smoke as they razed foe after foe, a clash between the living and the living dead._

 _From the vanguard, there gleamed a warrior clad in silver armor, a white cape flowing dramatically behind him. The sun shone off his sword and shield, both of which the divine dragon recognized all too well._

 _So Falchion and the Shield of Seals were returning to her once more..._

* * *

From across the battlefield, Lucina wielded her (late) father's blade with an equal sense of conviction as her father of the current time. Though she had no shield, she had her comrades at her side; they were her shield, and she had sworn to be theirs.

From just in front of the princess, Cynthia took a blow to the arm. Her cry of pain was minimal, but it snapped Lucina to attention. Steeling her grip on Falchion's hilt, she shot her feet forward one after the other, charging forward with fervor. Whatever beast had hurt her friend would face the wrath of her steel.

With a grunt, she thrust her sword forward, the blade's tip meeting the resistance of the tough flesh of a Risen. A harder push from her arms was all that was needed for the dark beast to be impaled through its stomach.

A slice and a squelch followed as Lucina ripped her blade from the Risen's body, now dissolving into the air in its death. Cynthia thanked her sincerely for her help before pushing forward, ignoring the small wound on her arm and right away moving onto the next opponent. There were still many more to go, but by now, the Shepherds – second generation in particular – were nothing if not professionals in exterminating Risen.

These foul creatures had destroyed the children's world, reducing it to an ash they could do naught but abandon. But no longer would their antics go on. Lucina stole a glance at her blade, letting her eyes linger on the runes surrounding the eye at the steel's base. Her mother had taught her as a child to read the ancient script, and their words now brought her continued comfort and surges of hope and bravery.

"When all else is lost, the future still remains."

Determined to prove her blade right, for herself, for Cynthia and all the others, she pressed onward.

* * *

 _So proudly they fight..._

 _Naga couldn't help but watch as two of her blood-bound lead the battle. She'd seen their compelling spirits and courage before – in their now legendary ancestors, to be precise. Likewise, she'd seen the weapons of her two fangs wielded by countless kings and queens of her realm in countless lifetimes._

 _Unfortunately, she'd also learned through watching her sons and daughters that the head is heavy that wears her crown, the heart is heavy that wields her sword, and the shoulders are heavy that bear the burden of her shield._

* * *

"Milord!"

Chrom's head snapped to attention, leaving the sight of the Revenant he'd only just struck down to see an Entombed looming just over his left shoulder. Axe raised, the purple beast's red eyes bore down on him with anger. A hiss erupted from its mouth as it swung its hatchet down, a guillotine ready to slice off the prince's Emblem-bearing arm.

A metallic shudder jarred Chrom's body as he raised his shield just in time to take the full impact of the Risen's axe. However, before he had the chance to strike back, Frederick's horse had raced up behind the beast. In a silver arc, Frederick slashed his lance clear through the beast's back, ending in an uppercut as his steed reared onto its hind legs.

The Entombed froze, pausing but feeling no pain, and proceeded to disappear into a plume of purple. The air dissolved the remains, as though they'd never been.

Through heavy breaths, his chest getting more and more tired as battle carried on, Chrom thanked his guard with a nod of his head. Though there wasn't time for much more. More enemies still remained, and they were advancing with every passing second.

Before Chrom pressed forward, he was sure to shoot a glance at the Emblem on his arm.

 _No scratches..._ he was relieved to notice. The Emblem still gleamed golden, without a chip or scar from the wear of battle. He didn't know what he'd do if it broke before they reached the altar.

For the briefest of seconds, he could almost feel Emmeryn's hands over his as he held the golden shield. Around him, battle raged, but ahead of him lay Naga's Temple. Had Emm known all along that this was where the Fire Emblem would lead them? Is that why she'd so adamantly been willing to protect it?

Though he'd secretly cursed the artifact for long after his sister's death – believing her sacrifice to have been inexorably linked to its protection – he was now more than ever thankful to Emmeryn for ensuring it stayed in his hands. Without the Emblem... without Emmeryn, their last chance to rise above Grima would be in Gangrel's hands.

But it wasn't. It had been entrusted to Chrom years ago, and – with a silent prayer of thanks to his dear sister – he would see it fulfill its true purpose. He would see it do Emm's sacrifice justice.

* * *

 _Centuries ago, Naga had entrusted the Shield of Seals to a prince, Medeus, after having used it to seal the degenerated Earth Dragons. Medeus also happened to be an Earth Dragon himself, though by becoming a manakete, he'd been the only one of his race to have escaped degeneration. The Shield he was given by Naga played a role in keeping him from giving into madness as well._

 _Though in his survival, Medeus had to watch his fellow manaketes face mistreatment and prejudice from humans, and a contempt for mankind began to grow in his heart. Over a millennium later, the Shield was stolen from him by a human – a thief – who later dismantled it, selling the five sacred jewels for money. The Shield was unwittingly weakened._

 _Using the gold he'd earned, the thief built an army and eventually founded the kingdom of Archanea – Ylisse's predecessor, and he made the Shield the emblem of the kingdom's royal family. Though the new king knew not that his removal of the gemstones had weakened the powers of the Shield, allowing Medeus, from whom the artifact had been stolen, to begin degenerating._

 _Perhaps it was the degeneration or simply a matter of poor circumstances that allowed Medeus' detestation of mankind to give way to burning hatred. His ill will towards man reached its peak at Archanea's founding. He ordered his army to seize the Archanean capital and wipe out the whole royal family._

 _But one sole princess survived._

* * *

There was a certain weight on Lucina's shoulders as she battled her way through the Risen. Not only was she fighting for this world and its safety, she was fighting for the revenge of her own.

She owed to to Ylisse – _her_ world's Ylisse – to earn it justice. Her people had looked to her in her father's wake, and they had looked _solely_ to her in her aunt's thereafter. With Falchion, they had seen her a warrior to defend them, and they had put their faith in her connection to Naga when they looked in her eyes and saw her brand. She may have been young, but she was their hope.

With Naga's connection to her, as the fates and the Ylisseans alike had deemed worthy, she fought harder. She was determined above all else to prove to the holy dragon that her faith hadn't been misplaced, that her divine decree to save this world had not fallen on unworthy ears. She had failed her people once, but she would not fail them again. She wouldn't fail Naga to start with.

Though in her determination, she hoped her people understood her decision to escape to another realm, to defend them on another plane. The world in which the people she'd ruled had lived may have been lost, but this world had remained.

Even if it had meant fleeing, she was determined to save her country in whatever form she could.

* * *

 _Princess Artemis of Archanea was the only one to escape the might of Medeus' kingdom, whose army had destroyed her city. She fled the the kingdom of Archanea and hid herself away on (what then was merely) a small island by the name of Altea. Though before she left, she sought out the leader of the Archanean forces._

 _With her family emblem – the (stolen) Shield of Seals – in hand, she approached the proud general leading Archanea's army. She handed over to him the sacred artifact and placed upon it a curse, that the general may be guaranteed to win the war._

 _Little did she know how long that curse would remain._

* * *

"Fliers! Get to those forts, and quickly! Before any-"

Almost as if they'd been waiting for a queue, reinforcements spilled onto the tops of the half-ruined stone forts, weapons at the ready and bloodlust in their glowing red eyes. Robin's commanding screams across the battlefield died off into nothing more than a halfhearted sigh.

New strategy...

It appeared no new enemies had appeared at the tower Cherche had been heading for. The wyvern rider knew the drill – guard the stairwell, don't let a soul exit – and Robin let her carry out the orders as usual. However, she called out to those fliers who had been approaching the towers where enemies had now appeared.

"Sumia! Cordelia! Withdraw and descend! Pull them away from their posts!"

The two pegasus knights pulled on their reins of their mounts, halting them in the air and turning them around as they lowered themselves to the ground. Robin then turned her attention to the riders in the field behind her.

"Stahl. Sully. The reinforcements will go after the pegasus knights on the ground. _Don't_ let them get that far," she commanded, earning understanding nods from the riding duo. "Take Kellam and Kjelle with you, and hand them off to Sumia and Cordelia. You two will deal with the Risen on the ground while the generals get flown to the top of the towers to guard their exits. Understood?"

"Yes!" Red and green armor took off in a charge across the bright green fields, the sounds of galloping lost to the metallic clanking and the angry cries of battle.

Robin took another quick scan over the battlefield, her breathing becoming increasingly labored, her throat developing a familiar, swollen ache from shouting commands. Everything seemed to be running according to plan, and the reinforcements had been taken care of with minimum crisis. Libra was safe behind Nowi, thrusting a Physic staff in the air every few moments, a corresponding glow appearing somewhere across the battlefield thereafter. Donnel was keeping a good guard on Maribelle as she fired magic through the air with impressive power.

Lucina was holding her own just fine, Morgan was looking almost scary as he and Owain carved a path of purple smoke in front of them, Lissa and Vaike's fighting spirits still seemed to be shining in spite of their ragged appearances, and Chrom...

Chrom was looking almost Herculean, his sword never seeming to halt but for when his eyes needed to lock in on his next target. She knew he must be tired, but she also knew that nothing – not even exhaustion – could triumph his will. Especially not when that will was burning for his country.

It was a large responsibility on his shoulders, she reminded herself. To defend the very survival of a nation, of an entire _world_ , and even of a family was a lot for a single man.

But with as hard as he pushed himself, he seemed to forget he wasn't alone. He had a small army behind him, filled with soldiers who would all lay down their lives for him if only he asked. He had two children fighting desperately for his survival, for they couldn't lose him once more.

And he had Robin.

She breathed a small sigh through her nose, releasing the tension in her chest as she gripped her tome. Yes, he had his other half, another person who held the weight of Ylisse in her hands. Just as the country had a king to fight for it, it had a queen as well.

She readied her tome in her hand and began cutting her way through the battlefield to him. She would never let him fight alone.

* * *

 _Artemis met a commoner while she hid in Altea. Anri, he was called, and he was strong, brave, and gallant. But above all else, he as exceedingly kind. Anri and Artemis fell deeply in love._

 _When Anri learned Artemis was being targeted by Medeus, he swore to seek out the Falchion, that he might slay the evil dragon king and protect his love. He did all of this and more for Artemis; he bravely wielded Falchion and struck down Medeus, ending the war and allowing the princess to return home in safety. He later went on to found the Kingdom of Altea, becoming a hero whose name all would know._

 _However, despite their love and devotion to one another, he and Artemis were never to be together._

 _Though many say the Curse of the Shield began when the thief stole and dismantled it, Artemis' spell she placed upon it seemed to have been the clear beginning of misfortune for its wielders. Indeed, the war had been won, as she'd intended her spell to ensure. But it seemed her spell had awakened a spite in the Shield, angering it at being used to cheat. That spite took other than Artemis herself as its first victim._

 _In a cruel twist of fate, Artemis was forced to marry the very general she'd placed the curse on the Shield for. To marry a commoner such as Anri was unheard of, and the general would make a proper king. She bore no ill will towards him, but until the day she died birthing his son, she felt a longing for someone else. For her true love, Anri._

 _Such was the plight of Artemis, and such was the suffering she brought on herself through her curse. "Artemis' Curse" would become known through the generations by owners of the Shield of Seals, the artifact seeming to bring sorrow or misfortune on all who wielded it._

* * *

Chrom may have lost Emmeryn. He may have had blood on his hands from the battles to protect the Emblem from those who wanted its power for themselves. He may have carried the daunting weight of an entire world's fate on his left arm.

But now he was here, so close to the altar where he'd face Naga's flames. All of the struggle and strife would soon show their worth. Soon, the divine dragon would grant them their power, and finally they would be able to purge to world of evil.

Though it had taken a lot of spilled blood to get them there, he wondered if Emmeryn would still be proud when this was all over. He hoped she could see the Shepherds now, that she'd be able to see Ylisse after they defeated Grima. When that day came, all the pain he and Lucina had experienced with the divine shield's weight – in both this world and Lucina's – would be worth it.

* * *

 _Naga knew of the anguish Prince Chrom had experienced at the death of his sister, and she knew how he'd inwardly cursed the Fire Emblem for playing a deciding role in her sacrifice. She'd heard his enraged curses to the heavens, cursing Naga's name in the nights proceeding Emmeryn's loss._

 _She'd hurt for Chrom, who had become another victim of the Emblem's storm of pain that seemed to follow it through the generations. But she'd watched over him, just as she watches over every man, woman, and child in her realm. She had tried however she could to guide him through the darkness, and she had watched as he eventually stood back on his own two feet and built a happy life in the light once more. She'd watched as he fell in love, took a wife, had a daughter, found a daughter and found a son._

 _She watched now as he fought for justice for the world. He was a worthy ruler of the holy house of Ylisse._

 _But the woman at his side... Naga could feel in her the presence of something distinctly_ un _holy. She had been watching over this woman for a long time as well. She could see the good in her soul (as she could see the good in every man), but she could see the presence of evil as well. Grima had a vile grip on her heart._

 _Robin was not one to succumb to darkness – that much was clear in every flash of thunder brutally tearing up one of the dragon's servants. It was clear in how she protected Chrom, a son of Naga and yet the man she loved. She would release herself from the Fell Dragon's claws at any cost; of this, Naga was certain._

 _But in this sentiment, the divine dragon feared for Chrom. She knew what Robin's attitude would mean for her, for her fate and the fate of their world._

 _She feared Chrom would be facing Artmeis' Curse once more._

* * *

 **So I guess we all know what ending I'm going with ;)**

 **Everything in Naga's story comes from meticulous combing of the Fire Emblem Wiki. In other words, it's all canon. Artemis' Curse, how she died, her thing with Anri (Marth's ancestor), all of it. Idk if I did a great job of doing Medeus' whole deal justice, but the story wasn't really about him, so less important I guess :P**

 **Also, now that we're close to the end, I just wanted to send out a quick thank you to the people who've been reviewing and keeping up with this story. You don't know it, but you're playing a crucial role in keeping this process going :) Thank you, and pleasure continue to R &R**


	33. ID Darkness

**HEY!**

 **I totally redid the chapters 2 and 3 - "But Frederick!" and "It appears the capital..." - (and am currently working on "The Shepherds' Garrison") if you feel like a break from the angst and darkness (hehe get it?) of endgame. Ylisstol world building, Chrom and Sully buddy time... Check 'em out!**

* * *

 **So I know I'm probably screwing myself over and ruining this chapter's mood in saying this, but it straight up sounds like someone is repeatedly saying "orange juice" in the background of this song.**

* * *

 **ID Darkness**

"You..."

Robin stood with seething eyes before her counterpart. The latter was engulfed in the dark aura of the fell dragon's power, giving off an eerie glow from within the darkness she'd pulled the both of them into.

The smirk on Grima's lips showed she was taking too much delight in the torturing of her parallel. Seeing that pathetic tactician's face fall upon hearing that her friends would meet their ends... It made all of the trouble she'd caused feel almost worth it.

"In truth," Grima began rather nonchalantly. "I simply don't understand why you care so deeply for the creatures..." What purpose could a group of mere mortals serve? She'd not forgotten the time she'd spent with their counterparts in her own world. However, she'd be a fool to say their bonds hadn't paled in comparison to the glory, to the divinity she felt in being connected to the fell dragon. What an idiot this Robin must've been not to realize that herself.

"No matter." Grima's shoulders gave a short shrug, and she raised her hand to her parallel. Power gathered under her skin, a growing spell ready to take care of Robin once and for all. There was nothing the poor girl could do but wait. "Your soul is mine now; you cannot escape. Your mind will descend into the shadow of my own!"

She fired a shot at her helpless victim, absorbing her in a ball of blue energy. She would fall into limbo, into pure darkness. Now, she was nothing but a prisoner of Grima's own mind.

* * *

" _Come here, my girl."_

A voice echoed from deep in the darkness. Robin opened her eyes, but was met with nothing but pure black. She was floating, or perhaps she was sinking. Nothing solid was to be felt around her, only a thick, syrupy gloom. Her head spun, a swirling making her wonder if her body was still in one piece. She'd have thought she was dead, merely a spirit floating in the darkness if it weren't for the immense pain alerting her to each inch of her body. She was still mortal, and each limb ached with the pain of a thousand years without sleep. She couldn't make herself move. She felt nauseous.

Was this the power of Grima?

" _Stay near me."_

Muddled and muted, the voice reached Robin's ears once more. It was a woman's voice, low and calming, but to whom did it belong? And why did it sound leagues away?

A chill ran through her tired muscles. She felt robbed of everything down to her very soul and conscience. Her body was spent... She wanted nothing more than to feel anything but this extreme weakness down her her bones. It was difficult not to fall into temptation, to close her eyes and simply... cease to be. A deep cold spread across Robin's body, pushing her exhaustion closer to its limits. She felt tears push at her eyes. What hurt could it do to close them? Just for a moment...

Before her lips were allowed to slip shut, she saw the field of black in front of her begin to morph.

No longer was there only black around her. As suddenly as though she'd simply opened her eyes, shades of purple, white, brown and others began to flow around her, wisps in the air. An unclear image began taking form within the colors. It was the outline of someone – a woman, judging by the blurred curve of her hips.

This time, when Robin heard the voice again, she saw pale lips moving on an obscured face.

"Your hands, Robin," the woman's voice said sternly, her voice low and resonant like a violin's fourth string. She felt the woman grab her hands, pulling them outwards and clutching them almost too hard. Slowly, the colors in the air around Robin began to sharpen, the image became clearer, and she felt the familiar sting of déjà vu in recesses of her mind.

What was this feeling? What were these visions? Was this a... memory?

No, it couldn't be. Robin looked at the now-intelligible sight of a dark tent around her. Firelight illuminated a single pallet on the ground amidst old, rotting wooden furniture. The air was dense and hot. The woman stood before her – young, pale and serious – but somehow... Robin recognized none of it.

But something in this woman's face, something in the furrow of her brows and the brown of her eyes seemed so painfully familiar. Try as she might, Robin couldn't remember her clearly, but she felt a sense of... _something._

Was this perhaps her lost past being revealed to her? Was she dying and seeing "her life flashing before her eyes?" Or was Grima merely toying with her mind, casting her into a dream – or a nightmare?

Robin hadn't the energy to think up an answer. The most she could bring herself to do was watch the scenes in passive confusion, feeling the a tired fear for her life above all else. Surely, this was the end. Or else...

"You must keep your hands covered, remember," the woman spoke up once more. She sounded almost warm, but each word she uttered left a ghostly echo reverberating in Robin's head. Everything ached... Robin looked down, cringing in pain only to see her own body was no longer there.

Her eyes were met with a small child's hands. On the right, six eyes glared at her in pink.

… This _was_ her. She was the child, and as the scene continued to play it became clearer to her that these were her memories.

Grima's mark stared at her from below. Instead of feeling the muscles in her face cringe as she intended, Robin felt no reaction at all. Her eyes followed involuntarily as the woman reached forward and pulled torn sleeves down her arm, tugging them downwards to cover her brand. Nothing she willed herself to do or say came to fruition; the scene was running independently from her, for it was already written what she'd done in these moments.

This was a memory. No doubt in mind, she was seeing just what she'd longed to know since waking up with nothing. But how?

Again, the space in front of her morphed, the colors in the air swirling quicker this time and showing scenes in rapid succession. Robin's heart no longer beat faster, she no longer ached. She was no longer living in the present, but rather as a past version of who she was.

The same low voice of the woman could be heard once more, and across each of the memories that streamed by Robin's eyes, she could hear her nearby.

"Get back inside," the woman said guardedly, protectively nudging Robin towards their tent with cold, long fingers.

"Wrong!" She stood on barren, desert ground with a tome in her hand, authority in her stance. Robin wondered as she clutched a tome of her own in small arms, was this woman perhaps her teacher or trainer?

A vague remembrance of Validar's words to her came to mind. How her mother had stolen her away, taken her from her crib and fled in the night. Could this woman be her mother?

"Again," she commanded, now from a patch of dry grass in a plain. Her tome was replaced with a sword, a few years of age added on her face. Robin's arm fell, weighted down by an iron blade in her hand, but the woman quickly snapped it back upwards with a swing of her blade.

The scenes slowed at a particular moment in the same tent as before. The same furniture surrounded her, but the air wasn't as suffocating, and the woman looked older. Robin herself felt taller as she sat at a rickety table, her feet almost grazing the ground from her spot in a chair. A book lay open in front of her, filled with scribbled notes and diagrams. All around her, decorating the tent in total disarray, lay papers, books, tomes, maps... The markings covering almost every open sheet of paper were familiar to her in an instant. _Battle strategies! These are tactical materials!_

The woman sat opposite Robin, poised on the other side of the desk and sketching battle formations on a loose piece of paper with a quill.

She was... rather plain, but Robin felt her heart warmer around her. The candlelight did her no favors, making clear just how flat and ghostly white her face was. Her hair – cropped and limp – was a frosty, dying brown like a brook with a splash of mud in its water. But her eyes were not muddy at all. When she looked up at Robin, twin pairs of rich, brown irises met.

"You need a skill," the woman stated simply, her brow furrowed and lips stiff. She brushed a strand of hair back from her face, her fingers stressedly combing over her head.

"I'm a wanted woman, and being my daughter makes you hunted for _two_ reasons. The sooner you can be independent from me, the better."

 _Her daughter?_ Robin's chest tightened, and if she could have, she would've been breathing faster in shock. This was her: the woman she'd wondered about, the woman who'd saved her from Validar. Her mother.

The scene changed once more, but she wanted to hold onto it. She wanted only to go back to the odd memories she'd seen prior, wanting to focus harder on the woman's face. She needed to see her! _This is the woman I've been missing._

"We may trust no one," she heard her mother's low voice, so close to her face she could feel her cold breath on her cheek. Her dress smelled old, and she herself had the scent of ancient papers and sweat on her. Robin couldn't see her face again. She saw only her long, pale fingers gripping her shoulders from behind, clinging to her. She wasn't sure whether she felt safe or scared.

Before Robin's eyes, the memory morphed into a clearer sight. She stood in a small cottage, evidently having had the means to make the tent a thing of the past. It was night, and moonlight seeped in through tattered, closed curtains. A feeling of fear settling in her stomach.

The weak light highlighted her mother's figure, clad in a ripped nightgown as she knelt on the ground. Before her lay another figure, motionless, chipped and broken assassin's blades on his arms. The tip had broken off of one of them, or rather it had _been_ broken off.

Her mother clutched the blade's missing tip in her hand, the pressure of her grip drawing blood from her palms. A sappy, blackish substance clung to the blade, allowing a few drops to slip away and plummet to a pool on the ground.

Robin's eyes followed the dripping from the blade to the wooden floor, where a larger pool of the substance had gathered. It crept forward, expanding, larger and larger and staining the floor with every grab it took to pull itself forward. It all seemed to be coming from near the assassin...

She wanted to gasp, but kept silent in fear. The young girl's stomach churned at the sight of blood, the source of the ever-growing pools on the floor, streaming from the assassin's neck. His chest, his stomach... He'd been torn up and was turning red. She stared in horror at the bloodied weapon in her mother's hands.

Her mother rose slowly, letting her blade fall to the ground with a clatter and a muted splash of blood. A shaky, frightened breath escaped Robin's mouth. Mother left the assassin's blade on the ground and spun on her heel, her stained nightgown flowing behind her as she almost frantically made for the other side of the room. She reached and opened a small, wooden boudoir and withdrew from it a dark mass of cloth. Taking it gingerly by her fingertips – careful not to stain it with her hands – she made towards Robin.

She approached her daughter and allowed the cloth to unfold into a familiar purple cloak.

"Wear this robe," she said to her daughter, pushing the cloak into her shaking hands. When Robin didn't respond, too shocked and horrified to move, her mother took her by the arm and began to put the cloak on for her with agitated hands. An edge entered her voice.

"It's my old Plegian cloak. Wear this and keep your Mark covered, and you'll blend right in with the Grimleal."

She shot a gaze back at the assassin's body on the floor. A tattoo of the Mark of Grima was visible on his neck, bloodied on its edges. _One of the Grimleal..._

"We stand out. But they'll not find us again. You simply need to blend in, and hide yourself where you can," her mother said, emphasizing her point by pulling up the hood of the cloak over Robin's head. Robin trembled and stared with wide, frightful eyes as she had her hair pushed behind her shoulders, hidden from the eyes of any who'd see her.

Cold hands were placed on her cheeks. Her mother had bent down to stare into her eyes. The hood was nearly covering Robin's face; the cloak was far too big for her. But nevertheless, her mother seemed satisfied. She smiled, a mixture of worry and satisfaction on her lips, and gazed into her daughter's eyes, just enough desperation in her eyes to taint the love.

Robin could feel blood smeared on her cheeks.

Everything faded from sight as the darkness of the hood enveloped Robin's vision. Her mother's labored breathing went silent. Though moments later, her voice did return.

"Ylisse."

Robin's vision returned as well, and she noticed the rim of her hood no longer covered her face completely. She'd grown.

Her mother stood over two packed canvas sacks. A determined and confident look was in her eyes as she roughly handed one of the packs to Robin. It was so light in her hands, she had to wonder if there was anything in it except clothing.

"The exalt is offering asylum to Plegians. Not many will be willing to go there after what their last exalt did, but there will be enough." Hope entered her voice. "Enough refugees that we'll blend right in. Your father's men will never find us there. They'd never even make it past the borders to start with. We'll be safe, darling."

Before she could say a word, the edges of Robin's vision went blacker. She found herself almost unwilling to go on, and yet so desperate to see more. Her whole life was being piled on her at once. However, she was finally getting to see it all. Finally, after all those years of wondering...

A sense of anticipation and dread wedged into her stomach just before a shot of pain ran through her arm. The sight of a village began to form around her, it became clear the pain was all part of another memory.

"Filth!" a hateful voice accused her as the pain in her arm subsided. A stone fell to the ground with a sickening clatter. She found herself surrounded by white plaster houses and cobblestone roads that looked like home – like Ylisse. But the man who stood in front of her did anything but comfort her.

With a grunt, he raised his large hands to her shoulders. She couldn't move, let alone yell for help, before he shoved her to the ground.

She landed with a painful thud in mud that hadn't been there before. Her head ached from the impact, and her hood fell over her eyes from the force. When she heard someone – a new, different voice – snarl at her from above, she couldn't see past the rim of her cloak to identify who it had come from.

It was a man – that much was clear when he pressed a thick work boot into her side. He had her pinned to the ground. Her lungs felt robbed of their air, and the boot threatened to break a rib. How could she be experiencing such physical pain through a mere memory?

"Heathen..." her assailant hissed, disgust in his voice. The sole of his boot pressed harder into her side, pushing a whimper of pain out of her lips. "Last thing this country needs is _your_ kind..."

His voice faded away before he could finish, and Robin suddenly found herself on her feet again. The ache in her head and ribs was replaced by one in her stomach. Inside the small house in which she stood, dry and dusty, was a broken window in the kitchen area. A stone lay on the floor amidst shards of glass. Through the window, she could see the rest of the village not far in the distance. After her past two memories, she didn't need to ask to know who'd thrown the stone.

Her mother stood against the wall opposite the shattered window, her chest heaving in anger or fear. Her eyes were wild, her lips pursed tightly.

Robin took a hesitant step towards her mother. A part of her was scared of the woman, of her cold hands, her domineering presence, the memory of her standing over a murdered man.

But evidently, Robin had known in her past that she had nothing to fear, for she drew closer and closer to the woman without flinching. She'd come to her side and slowly, sadly reached out and grabbed her hand. Its cold didn't frighten her now. In fact, its trembling made Robin's heart ache in sympathy instead.

Her mother let out a sigh, ragged and revealing just how shaken up she was. She brought her free hand to her daughter's head and stroked her hair. She drew Robin closer to her and took another few deep breaths.

"We'll be alright, my bird." Her voice shook, but it was clear she was trying to comfort them both. "Their prejudice is tenfold weaker than your father's wrath."

As Robin took in the feeling of being in her mother's arms, the world regrettably faded once more. Her head was reeling, her heart pounding. That she had experienced such pain, such prejudice... She wanted it to be over, and yet she found herself hoping she would get to see just one more memory. One more flash of all that had happened to her. One more glimpse of her past.

To her reluctant relief, there was more to come.

The air swirled with faint hues of green, never forming a full-fledged vision. However, she could hear a voice calling at her, and for the first time it was one she recognized.

"Excuse me," the voice asked questioningly. That voice... Deep, soothing, kind... Yes, she'd know that voice anywhere, but strangely not from her past – from her present.

 _Chrom._

"It's dangerous out here. Are you lost?"

The colors took form, and Chrom stood before her, trying poorly to mask a look of suspicion. Frederick approached behind him, lance gripped and at the ready, along with a curious Lissa.

This had never happened... She took in the sight of the field around her, pushing past the growing feeling of dread in her stomach. This was the very place, the meadow where she'd been found. But this was all wrong. She'd been unconscious. She'd woken up to see Chrom and Lissa standing above her with smiles, not before her with questioning glares.

This wasn't her past... What was this?

She blinked and suddenly her family was gone. The field was replaced by a makeshift practice ground. She stood before her mother once more as the latter placed a hand on her shoulder. Her lips were pursed again.

"The Exalt has spoken of the prince's brigade of soldiers," her mother said factually, standing solemnly in front of her. "'Shepherds' they call them."

Robin felt her heart soar at the mention of the Shepherds, but that didn't take the fear pumping through her veins away. What was happening? This wasn't her life.

"I want you to offer your services to them. They're a respected and elite force; no Ylissean would ever harm you if you're among them, and no Plegian ever could."

From within this illusion, she could feel her stomach sink, worried thoughts of leaving her mother rising in her. Robin felt a hand run down her arm, comforting until it took hold of her palm. She jumped, looking her mother in the eyes with shock and worry as fingernails dug into the skin of her hand, squeezing too hard for comfort.

Her mother's eyes didn't stray from her as she took hold of the tome in her daughter's hand, tugging on it a bit for emphasis.

"This is what I've trained you for, my bird." Her voice was a low whisper, heavy with authority. Her brown eyes bore into Robin's, wide and almost challenging her to argue. "To break free of this target on our backs. With your skill, they'll take you in, and from there, they'll protect you."

Again, she flickered back to the field – to Chrom, Lissa and Frederick. They were closer now, their guarded stances gone and calm smiles on their lips (at least on the royal siblings' parts). She held out a hand to the prince, minding Mother's frequent reminders to let her sleeve cover her mark, and felt a polite smile grow on her face.

"My name is Robin."

When her hand met Chrom's, it was no longer his hand, but rather her mother's. The world around her had changed once more, and she was trying to pull her mother up from the ground. A cottage she recognized as her own smoldered in front of her, smoke rising into the air as dark flames consumed it. Her mother lay injured in front of her, collapsed from the smoke, as one of the house's support beams collapsed to ash with a thundering crack.

"You must stay away," she was instructed in a weak, raspy voice. Robin realized as both of her mother's hands clutched her own that they were no longer cold. They were warm, burned by the flames around her. "Do not come here again, my bird. They know where I am, and I will be followed until they have finished me off. You mustn't be seen with me again. Stay safe with the Shepherds. Stay safe where they can't harm you."

Robin never needed to ask who "they" was. The Grimleal had found her mother... It was a miracle she had survived their ambush on the cottage.

She found herself leaned forward, embracing her mother for what she knew would have to be the final time. Their arms wrapped around one another, and Robin could feel tears welling up in her eyes. The smoke wasn't helping matters...

From over her shoulder, her mother's fingers dug into her shoulders, clinging desperately to her daughter. Her voice scratched in Robin's ear, sending the girl's blood colder than ice.

"Remember this day, Robin. Just as someone betrayed me to the Grimleal, anyone can betray you as well. _Use_ the Shepherds, but do not ever grant them your trust."

After that, images ran through Robin's mind at double speed, quick flashes that she could barely comprehend.

An assassin's blade in the palace courtyard narrowly missing Chrom's heart, slicing his sword arm open instead.

The familiar halls of the palace, their decorations all draped with black veils. A portrait of Emmeryn stood behind dozens of dimly lit candles. A group of priests blessed her name in sorrow.

Familiar voices whispered behind the corner of a hallway, an angry noblewoman and an ever-stoic knight.

"You don't think _she_ planned this, do you?"

"I wouldn't rule it out."

She leaned against the wall, hidden from Maribelle and Frederick's eyes as tears trailed down her cheeks. Even in the Shepherds – her supposed safe haven – she was suspected and judged for her foreign blood.

In a recovery room, the prince laying in a clinic bed in front of her. His arm was wrapped in bandages, his gray eyes tired and bloodshot. His voice was sad. He was wounded, and his sister murdered. But he still managed to reach over with his good arm to grip Robin's hand tightly. With safety and certainty, he looked her in the eyes.

"I know you had nothing to do with this," he said softly, his thumb lightly caressing the top of her hand. She felt herself squeeze a bit tighter. "I trust you."

She nodded and smiled a sad smile, but in her head were echoes of her mother's ever-present warning: _Trust no one._

She was kneeling at an altar, her eyes wide as the heirarch's voice flooded in and out of her ears and going on about love and marriage. She glanced at her hands clasped together in front of her, her mark neatly hidden by a delicate white glove. No amount of lace could ever make her forget it. She knew it was there – a lie she was keeping from everyone. Even from the man she loved.

Was her whole life to be this same charade?

A similar mark appeared on the arm of a baby boy. She cried and hugged him close to her. The Grimleal would never get their hands on him; they would never know he was like her. He would never need to face the fears she did.

When contact came from her homeland, an offer to gift Ylisse the last sacred gemstone of the Fire Emblem, she couldn't shake the dread in her stomach. Just planning to go back to that land, to their king, was enough to send her to the very edge of her sanity.

Lucina and Morgan stood before her, their faces showing heartbreak and trying to hide tears. She leaned forward and hugged them with all she had, knowing that she may never get the chance to do so again. She whispered in their ears a reassurance: "All I do-"

"- I do to protect you." The voice was no longer her own, but her mother's. She was no longer in her children's arms, but in the arms of her mother, shaking with fear. They were back in the shabby cottage on the night the assassin had been murdered. Mother's hands didn't grip her daughter's shoulders, for fear of staining the Plegian cloak with blood. "You're a jewel, my bird, and your father will stop at nothing to get you back. I will always do what I must to keep you safe."

Robin had just seen her whole life flash by her in an instant, but still it wasn't _her_ life. It was a life in which Chrom had been injured, in which Morgan had been born, where she'd left Lucina as a young girl...

This was not her life she'd been seeing, but she did have a growing suspicion she knew whose it was. Grima had told Robin before striking her down that she would descend into a shadow of her mind... Was this what she'd meant? That she would fall into the other Robin's mind?

Before she had time to wonder, her answer came.

Validar's sinister laugh pierced her ears. Lightning tingled on her hands, hearkening back to the nightmares she'd had in this life. She'd awoken so many times with the image fresh in her mind of her own spell impaling Chrom's body. Now, she was living that moment and beyond. This was the moment she'd killed Chrom in another life.

This was Grima's life. These were _her_ memories.

"You think your pathetic band of servants will accept you back with their prince's blood on your hands?" Validar mocked her from afar. She stared in horror at her husband's body lifeless on the ground, and she felt a truth to his words.

A swarm of Grimleal priests began to gather around him. She looked back at the Shepherds... Lissa screamed upon seeing her brother, many others did the same, and here and there it dawned on someone who had brought him down. Shocked, angry, unforgiving fingers began to point at her.

"Fool! Don't you see now?" screamed Validar, his crackling voice echoing across the Plegian throne room. She didn't want to see, but she did. There was no way she could face the Shepherds now. She had nowhere to run, nowhere to go except... "You've belonged with us from the start. _This_ is where you're meant to be! Accept your fate."

Before her eyes, Validar and all his men disappeared, and she found herself in the field of Southtown once more. Though this time, she saw not Chrom or Lissa or Frederick, but... herself?

"Who are you?" the Robin in front of her asked. She had her tome in hand, sword in its hilt. On this day, at this moment, this was where shew as fated to be, and Grima had used that to her advantage.

From within Grima's mind, Robin could hear the thought process: She had the advantage of having lived this all before. She knew Chrom would be here within the day. If she could simply get her parallel to accept her power, they'd be twice as strong together. They'd be years ahead of schedule, with Chrom dead before he or his meddling daughter even had the chance to cause them trouble again.

Suddenly, two hands seized the parallel's neck and forehead. It would only be a moment before they had merged into one.

" **Submit to me!"** Grima called, squeezing her counterpart's temples harder and harder as she began to struggle, trying to force her power into her.

She could feel a piece of herself draining. It was leaving her, surging through her hands with such force she felt she'd burst. Only a bit more...

" _ **Yes, YES! Accept it! Embrace Master Grima's heart! Oppression and hiding be damned! You are a GOD! Set your potential free! Let go and take the power! Take it!"**_

And everything returned to black.

* * *

" _You listen to me, Robin._ _When your father's men find us, you will be taken from me and I will be killed. You will be made into an evil you can scarcely imagine."_

How could she still hear her mother's voice? She was so tired... She'd seen herself lose her memory, she'd lived the moment through the eyes of her assailant... The weight of Grima's life rested too heavily on her chest, pushing her down further and further into the never ending darkness. Was this not the end?

" _Unless we can fight back. They will find us, Robin, and when they do you must be ready to fight back."_

'Fight back'... That was the life she'd missed? Even in her childhood, she'd been fighting just like in adulthood? Just like now? She thought of her mother, of the Shepherds, of her children. So much pain she'd been through, but more was the pain she had caused them... She hoped she'd redeemed herself in this life.

Perhaps... she had. Perhaps she could make peace. Perhaps she could give in now... if only a little. Perhaps she could simply... sleep...

"She has...won..." Robin recognized, whispering with an ironic chuckle. She was descending into the shadows of Grima's heart, mere inches away from being absorbed by the fell dragon completely. She could feel her energy and her will being sapped. There were no more memories, no more voices. It was all coming to an end. "Ah... I c-can't see... I can't hear... I feel...nothing... ... ...Nothing... ..."

And from the brink of the end, like the whispering of a ghost, a voice did call to her again. The same as before, she heard her mother's voice, returned from the disappearing illusions in a final attempt to give her strength.

" _You must not let him take you,"_ the low, soothing sound of her voice reached Robin's ears. Her voice faded in and out, as though the darkness were trying to strangle its sound, but she wasn't to be silenced. _"You must fight back."_

As her lungs felt on their breaking point, her limbs like they'd been crushed, her mind ready to give up, yet another person called to her, their voice twice as real as her mother's. Its light broke through the nothingness around her and struggled to reach her ears, but she could hear it. So faintly, it called to her in desperation:

"Figh-ack!"

* * *

 **You have no idea how many drafts it took to get this chapter even presentable. Also sorry the updates have been so sparse. Blame Fire Emblem Heroes (I summoned 5* Hector and almost cried).** Shoot me a friend request at 0492443587. Seriously ;)

 **A few deeper comments for those interested:**

 **A) Someone who runs off from Validar and metaphorically spits in his face like Robin's mother did must be hard af. I mean clearly she loved her son/daughter enough to risk everything for them, but to survive on the hunt from the Grimleal, you've gotta be pretty badass. That's why I decided against making her the loving, caring, "Mommy" you often see her as (which isn't bad at all! Just not as realistic in my mind).**

 **B) Robin had to have been through some serious business too to have betrayed her family and extended family the way she did. If her life had been peace, joy and pancakes, she likely wouldn't have given into Grima just like that. Add a kind of crazy mother, the feeling of being hunted and having to hide herself, having one of the hunters murdered in front of her, having hope of a happier life in Ylisse crushed by the still predominant post-war racism, and a feeling of never knowing who will turn you in to your cult leader father... That kind of fear and distrust could lead her bonds to be significantly weaker with the Shepherds, as Lucina mentioned in the game.**


	34. ID Return

**~Sorry for double uploading this. Kept getting an error message trying to post it, and even hours later, I still hadn't gotten an email confirming the update had been made. Trying to upload again. ~**

* * *

 **Not gonna lie, I got a little misty-eyed writing this. Not because of what I wrote, but just because this is such a beautiful scene. The friendship and the love and Matt Mercer's "Fight back!"**

 **Choking up again. I'll just get on with the chapter now.**

* * *

 **ID Return**

"Figh—ack!"

A voice fought to reach Robin's ears, pushing through the darkness from out of nowhere.

"You—ve to —ack!"

Who was this struggling to be heard? Robin groaned in confusion from where she lay amidst the nothingness of Grima's mind. Was she not supposed to fall now? "...Huh?"

But that voice...

 _A firm hand waiting to pull her up. An offer to join an army that would forever change her life._ Whispers of events long past flitted through her mind.

"Yo— ha— fi— back!"

 _A knight with a brutal lance of silver training her until she thought she could no longer stand._

 _The smile of a queen, serene and honest. She offered her a place to call home without a moment's thought._

 _The clasp of a young princess' hand as she was dragged through the streets of a city undiscovered. She could remember the joy in her laugh, friendly and innocent._

Each memory grew stronger, fuller. No longer did they feel foreign and confusing as they had during Grima's visions. She recognized these people, and she soon began to remember their names, their faces, their smiles or their laughs. These memories were her own, replacing the exhaustion and fear resting deep in her bones with something lighter. The evil trying to drown her was being chased away.

"—ghting!"

 _A muscular arm caught her in a headlock, a tanned fist drilling the top of her head. Vaike laughed his loud, boisterous laugh and claimed noogies were were signs of affection, solely okay brothers. And sisters. Under the roll of her eyes, she couldn't hide a smile._

 _Her pegasus bucked underneath her as Sumia's gentle hands took her by the nuzzle. The pegasus knight cooed, soothing the poor beast before gazing up at Robin with a familiar smile, reassuring her. She was terrified her first time on a pegasus, but she was glad to have Sumia, always by her side to help her out however she could._

 _The rice had been exceptionally inedible the night Lissa had been on cooking duty. But Sully nonetheless gobbled it up by Robin's side, telling her with a hearty chuckle that it was "all going to the same place." Robin playfully smacked the knight's shoulder._

 _After all their misadventures, Miriel still hadn't known they were friends. Perhaps it'd been a while since the mage had heard that word. But the word "Fascinating..." followed by a smile melted the uncertainty in Robin's heart away and replaced it with fondness._

"Fight ba—! —ave to keep —ing!"

 _Poor Ricken always became so cross with her when she rubbed his head under his hat. When he protested in that cracking voice of his, it only made her want to hug him tighter. Someone so young and eager as he was deserved to be protected – by her and all the others in camp who'd grown to be like his older siblings._

 _It had taken forever for her to get Olivia to open up –_ really _open up – to her, but as if by magic or fate, they became friends overnight. Quite literally. All night, they'd stayed up in the strategy tent, giggling and chatting as they built a mini theater of scrap wood. They shared a dream, a goal, a future as friends._

 _She took the biggest risk of her life to get closer to Cordelia. She had become a pegasus knight to give the new Shepherd familiarity, and she'd not regretted it once. Not when they flew together in the sky, playfully (most of the time) racing one another through the clouds as sweat gleamed on their foreheads._

 _She'd never laughed so hard as when she heard Stahl's impression of Chrom. Their search for the perfect birthday present for the prince had turned silly rather quickly. Every facetious suggestion she made to her friend was met with a hilarious enactment of the prince's likely reaction. Her cheeks had ached by the time they headed back to camp._

No, these were no longer Grima's memories; that much she could feel in the burning of nostalgia and... love in her chest. These memories were hers, cherished and – although faded in her exhaustion – what kept her going. They were growing stronger; they were calling her back.

But who was this voice calling to her? Clearly someone was trying to reach her, and in doing so triggering this rush of emotions and surge of will to survive.

Out loud, she spoke – and though Grima loomed warningly before her – to no one in particular, "I...hear something... A voice..."

"Fight back, Robin! You swore to do so, remember?"

 _She cradled a baby girl close in her arms, pressing their foreheads together as a tear rolled down her face. She was certain the world would never see a love so strong as hers for her daughter. Hugging her baby close, using her body as something of a shield, she swore to herself and Lucina that she would build a happy world for her. She swore it._

 _Basilio and Flavia had done so much for her already, and to have them fighting over her services was a nice – if not agitating – feeling. The way Basilio kept her head up and showed her bravery, the way Flavia inspired her to speak her mind and offered her a place among her family... Despite the political dynamic between them, they were more precious to her than they knew. She wouldn't let them down. She swore it._

 _Morgan had been a shock, a child she didn't know she had. Or rather,_ would _have. But he, as much as his sister, was worth protecting. His smile, his love and optimism, his drive and his cleverness. Whenever he wrapped his arms around her, she was reminded just how much she loved her son. After all he had been through, she owed it to him to fight for him. She owed it to him to keep him safe. No harm would befall him. She swore it._

 _Morgan reminded her so much of Lucina sometimes. The will in them both, their senses of humor, their determination and occasional obstinance … There was no doubt about from whom they'd gotten it all: They were their father's children._

 _Their father..._

"Now keep your damn word!"

 _Their father!_

And her mind exploded with color – with clasped hands and smiles and tears, with gray eyes and a kind smile, a sword ever fighting by her side.

In an instant, she saw it all. Strong arms sparring against her, a guilty and beet-red face awaiting her outside a bathing tent, a smile and a laugh sent her way during a long night of strategizing. She saw the wind in his hair the day he'd asked her to become his wife, the sun on his face as he waved to their people the day that she did, the tears in his eyes when he'd first held his daughter.

She remembered the night they'd told their story to their grown children, the day he'd conquered the man called unconquerable, the evening he'd held her in his arms and assured her their fates belonged to them alone.

He'd fought Validar at her side, and they'd won. She'd faced Naga at his side, and he'd received her blessing.

She'd loved him.

Of course she had. They were two halves of the same whole.

"Chrom!"

She knew that name best, for she'd called it a thousand times and a thousand more. From the depths of nothingness – the brink of death – the sound of his name called her back. It brought back hundreds of associations and took her back to her life she'd lived, drawing her up, up, until she could hear more voices – each one familiar in its own right.

Grima sputtered angrily, slapped in the face and utterly confounded. **"No! You are mine now! The dragon's grip cannot be broken!"**

But broken it was becoming. Each voice that reached Robin's ears pried Grima's clutch a bit wider, setting her free. Each brought its own memory with it and expelled another piece of the darkness consuming her, replacing it with warmth and light.

"Come back to us, Robin!" called Lissa, her first and truest taste of sisterhood.

"I know it would take more than this to stop you, milady!" Frederick encouraged her, just as he'd done countless times before. When she'd had nothing, he trained her and showed her her worth.

"You gonna let that ugly snake get the last hiss? Come on!" Sully. She never did have a filter on that mouth of hers... but she'd always been there, as stalwart a comrade as one could ever hope for.

"On your feet, soldier! Don't make ol' Teach give ya a lecture!" Vaike had always managed to make her laugh, intentional or not. Sometimes it was his unintentional humor that made her smile widest.

"Robin, remember all the days we spent together!" To find someone who'd treated her with the kindness as Sumia had was a blessing of the highest form. A bookworm and a gentle soul, she'd made for just the friend Robin had needed in her new life.

"We're all right here, by your side!" Even when the other pegasus knights had fallen, Cordelia lived on and fought for them. In her, her sisters had seen hope for the future, and Robin could see it as well.

"The gods gave you to us. I do not believe they wish you taken away." Libra... A purer man she'd never met, nor one more humble. Devotion, faith, and good did still exist in the world, and they lived in him.

"Get up, Robin! No one goes down without my say so..." Tharja had been the hardest of anyone to trust, what with her background. But in the end, Robin had come to feel safer with the Plegian mage at her back than any knight.

"You are not Grima, nor is he you. Remember that, Robin!" When she'd come to doubt herself and her origins, Tiki had been there. She'd revealed truths to Robin as best she could, and she reminded her that nothing – not even a brand or cursed blood – could make her into anything but who she chose to be.

A surge of hope rushed through Robin's chest. "I can hear them... I can hear my friends!" She found the strength to stand, her knees still tired but her heart beating with her own life force once more. She would not back down now; not now that she had her friends calling her to their side! They needed her now, and she would find a way back to them if it was the last thing she did.

" **Stop this at once! SILENCE those wretched voices!"** Grima was losing her control, and her desperation was visible in her crazed eyes. She was losing, and she could see it. In a frenzy, she began to sling out every word she could think of to try to belittle those attempting to steal her other half back, but nothing could frighten them nor Robin away from fighting. **"You are all powerless! Frail! Insignificant! You are NOTHING!"**

"Return to us, Robin!" In that final call out to her, she heard all she needed to give her the last bit of courage and energy she needed. She stood proud and steady, remembering the man who belonged standing at her side. She remembered the man with whom she'd lead a country towards a brighter future. She felt devotion. Faith. Strength. Love. He was the wind at her back and the sword at her side. "Your bond with us is even stronger than the fell dragon's might."

Yes... Yes!

Had she not said so herself that they were all tied to one another? That something – something beyond fate itself – held them together? Their bonds meant more than any destiny! Their bonds would not, _could not_ be broken away from them. Together, they were stronger than any god or magic!

"Chrom!" Robin called back through the fading abyss, looking into her heart. There was a pull inside her, drawing her towards the world above. Her friends were near; she could feel it. She didn't belong with Grima; she belonged up there with them, fighting hand in hand for their future.

 _Naga, speed me to their side!_

"I'm coming, Chrom! Hold on!"

And from the darkness she returned.

* * *

 **I just realized they mix the Chrom/Ylisse/generally Awakening specific theme in with this song and that broke me all over again.**

 **Welp, big chapter, next chapter. The pressure's on for me 0.0 If you've got anything you wanna see in specific, let me know!**


	35. ID Purpose

**So who else has been non-stop playing Echoes since yesterday?! Had to break to finally get this chapter written and published.**

 **This is it. Our final battle.**

* * *

 **ID Purpose**

"Robin!"

"She's back!"

A burst of red light and the crack of a shattering curse rushed through the air with a brilliance that echoed even after the accompanying bolts of dark lightning had faded. In their wake lay a head of pale hair falling over a deep purple cloak.

From the void, Robin was back.

The Shepherds, though weak and wounded from Grima's prior strike, couldn't be stopped from shouting out to her in relief and joy. Their second in command was back, and with her, the hope of winning the behemoth of a battle before them.

Chrom was the first to his feet, bounding to Robin's side as she lay on her hands and knees. Lissa followed just behind him with tears brimming in her eyes. The prince dropped to his knees and skidded to his wife's side, placing a concerned arm on her elbow.

"Robin!" Lissa called as she reached her side. She, too, dropped and placed an arm around her friend's shoulders.

Robin finally glanced up, taking in a blurred and confusing sight of Grima around her. She was alive... She shot a glance first at her sister-in-law with a weak but relieved smile, and then at Chrom. Their eyes met, and in that single moment, the world began to build itself up again. The dark sky behind them, the dragon below them, their family behind them and their other halves before them.

"You made it..." Chrom sighed, his eyes never leaving hers as so many words and emotions passed between them that needn't be spoken. She had survived, and he had called her back. Two smiles met, and slowly two commanders rose before their army, and two halves became a whole once more.

Naga's voice echoed from the stormy heavens over the Shepherds, blessing and renewing their spirits. "Children of man, take my power! Rise now and face the fell dragon!"

A brilliant light of every color enveloped the Ylisseans, and as it swirled around them like the wind, they felt their bodies heal. The wounds the fell dragon had inflicted on them disappeared, and with the blessing of the divine dragon, they were able to stand once more. They stood tall behind Chrom, Lissa, and Robin – who had been joined by the three royal children – with pride and courage, ready to finish this age old battle for their homeland.

Chrom gripped Robin's hand at his side. She glanced away from her soldiers, her friends, and she looked him in his gray eyes, unsurprising to see the familiar glow of confidence in them.

"Are you ready to end this?" he asked, his brow set and mouth curved into a sideways smile.

She raised their hands up, next to the hilt of his sword and the edge of the tome in in pocket. Tightening her grip and mirroring his bold smile, she confirmed, "Once and for all."

With the sound of metal being unsheathed, Chrom raised Falchion into the air. The fading red of the sun reflected of its blade, the light of the dusk of an era shining bright for all to see.

"Shepherds... to arms!"

* * *

Grima stood strong and guarded at the far end of the charge. Around her, bodies of the most powerful fallen warriors who the hells played prison to were summoned to fight for their lord. Risen made for perfect servants; they felt nothing but a lust for blood. These were the strongest that she and the fell dragon himself could summon...

So why were the Ylisseans mowing through them as they were?

Axes swung through the Risen generals' armor as though it were naught but paper, lances pierced the flesh of undead heroes like fish on a pike. Pegasi descended from the air looking like inverted shadows, a bright white against the dark clouds. Two knights made arcs across the dragon's back trailing their lances behind them and slashing all who stood in their way.

Disappointing as this view was, it mattered not. Not even that dog of a prince mattered, fighting his way closer alongside his children – _Grima's_ children, with their blood sullied by Naga. The only thing that mattered was the tactician firing spells from the back of a redheaded paladin's saddle.

Grima knew Robin's mind, as it was practically her own. There was no doubt she was trying to find the quickest way forward. She would want to take Grima down herself.

" **Return to me..."** Grima purred to none but herself. Her eyes watched hungrily as Robin and her little pet blazed forward. She wouldn't fail to join them into one this time... **"Come... We are one and the same."**

* * *

"There, Sully!"

Robin shouted commands from the back of her friend's saddle. On Robin's command, Sully slashed an approaching Risen on their right.

Both of them were breathing hard, but not from lack of energy. The heat of battle weighed on them, but their hearts still pumped fast with courage, and Robin's with a bit more of something else...

As Sully became preoccupied with another enemy, Robin's brown eyes scanned critically over the fell dragon's back. She had lead her friend forward with a goal, on a specific path she could see which lead straight to Grima's neck. Between the enemies, ahead of their allies... If she could make it far enough, there would be no one who could stop her. If she waited for the right moment, for Sully to be distracted, she could run. She _would_ run, and she would end this battle herself.

Determination and an ounce of pain ran were what weighed most on Robin's heart. She had made a promise to Chrom – and in doing so, to most everyone she loved – that she would do nothing that would bring her harm. But this was a promise she had decided to break before she'd even made it.

She thought of Emmeryn, who had chosen to sacrifice herself for the good of her country. That sacrifice saved the lives of thousands of soldiers by ending the war entirely. Chrom and Lissa and all of Ylisse had mourned her loss, but they had recovered. And they would recover again when Robin made the same sacrifice for every man and woman of the future, that they may be born without the fear of Grima's resurrection.

"You all right back there?" Sully called back to her, no longer swinging her lance.

"Yes," answered Robin, clutching her tome a bit harder. She knew Sully was expecting an order: where to go next.

Just behind them, Chrom and Lucina fought side-by-side, Morgan firing spells from behind them. Further back still, Frederick's horse charged forward and delivered the strike of a knight's lance and a dancer's sword to a risen sorcerer. Cordelia fought off a pegasus knight as Virion fired arrows from below. Maribelle healed Lissa with a thrust of her staff, a flash of light, and a wave of her hand before firing a spell at an archer.

These sights in her eyes, Robin gave Sully her instructions on where to go. As they began to gallop forward, Robin let out a quiet and resolved sigh. She shot one last glance at Chrom. His path was blocked by a swordsman, and he was growing farther and farther away. He'd not reach them now.

A risen knight descended upon the duo, and Sully eagerly gripped her lance in her hand. Robin prepared her tome as she saw three more Risen heading their way. The horse reared up as Sully battled on, but Robin fired not a single shot.

She could see a path forward, small enough only for her to make it through by dodging the enemies lining it. No one would be able to chase her down. Everyone was distracted...

Now was the time.

A silent apology ran through Robin's head at the lie she'd told, at the pain she'd be putting Chrom and the Shepherds through. But she knew in her heart this was right.

She sprung from the back of Sully's horse, and immediately began to run. She'd slipped past the lances and swords of the Risen around her before her friend could give chase. She heard the call of her husband behind her; he'd been watching from where he stood.

But none of this stopped her. She had her sights set on one person and one alone who stood ahead of her, head bowed, mouth curled into a smirk, awaiting her.

 _Prepare to meet our end, Grima._

* * *

"Robin! Robin, don't!"

Chrom didn't doubt his wife could hear him as he frantically called after her. She ran on, without so much as a turn back before she disappeared from his sight behind a crowd of Risen in the distance. Ahead of him, Sully tried to break away from the crowd of warriors around her, but there was no free path.

She'd planned this! Right when she knew he and Sully would be blocked, she'd made a run for it, and he knew just where she was heading and why. Damn her, using her brains against her own men! Her own friends! How could she intend to do just what she'd promised not to?

She. Had. _Promised._ Not to.

In a frenzy, Chrom slashed down the red-eyed swordsman with a frantic slash of Falchion before breaking into a run. What a horrifically familiar feeling it was, sprinting to save a woman he loved from her own death wish... Lucina and Morgan remained a stunned few paces behind him and eventually fell behind all together as he reached Sully's side.

"Captain!" Sully cried as she saw him beside her, parrying a strike from an enemy lance. With a few well-placed hits powered by urgency, he helped her fell the last few Risen around her.

Without a word, he hoisted himself on the back of Sully's white horse. She scarcely waited for him to be seated, neither of them wanting to waste a minute before they went charging after Robin.

* * *

Bobbing and weaving her way through enemy attacks, Robin made for Grima's neck where her parallel stood. For once, she was glad for Frederick's agility exercises during his fitness hour, for now it was only important that she dodge any barriers between her and her goal. She could hear Chrom and Sully behind her, but she needed to beat them to Grima.

She needed to be the one to land the final blow.

When at last she reached a clearing, she saw her parallel standing before her. Back straight, hands poised with a spell at the ready, she was ready to bring Robin down.

A silent moment passed, short, though it seemed to extend into a small eternity. Twin eyes gazed upon each other in enmity, knowing only one of them would escape this encounter with their wishes granted. Either Robin would be absorbed by the fell dragon or Grima would cease to be at all; these were the only two ways.

And Robin had no intention of being absorbed into evil.

In a flash, she had her Thoron drawn and open in her hand. As the fell dragon roared before her, shaking the very earth with its volume, she spoke no words. She _had_ none left to speak to the dragon or his devil heart. Only a determined shout escaped her mouth as she extended her hand out with practiced form, strength backing up the swing of her hand as she felt fire surging through her veins. A bolt of thunder surged forth, meeting its target hard in the heart.

Her hand remained frozen in the air.

" **DAMN YOU!"**

* * *

She didn't hear Chrom's shouts behind her, nor did she hear him hit the ground as he tried to cross the last bit of distance between them. The world seemed to go silent after Grima's scream stopped echoing through the air.

With a slight pain in her chest mirroring the wound she'd just caused her other self, Robin approached her counterpart. The latter had fallen to her knees. All it would take was one good strike to end her.

Raising her hand up, she called upon a power within her that she'd never used. At her fingertips, a ball of deep blue energy began to form: the dark power of the fell dragon. Such a spell knew no tome, and only those of Grima's worthy blood could summon it. She would use this power of the fell dragon's to bring him to his end.

" **WHAT..."** Grima gazed up at her approaching parallel, her eyes burning with hatred and rage. And confusion. **"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"**

In a low, solemn voice, barely to be heard over the wind, Robin declared, "For once, I'm glad you and I are the same. Now I can give my life to protect those I care for..."

After all they'd been through to protect the world from Grima, to let him simply fall into dormancy would be too weak a resolution to their problem. For the Shepherds, for their future families, Grima needed to die. For the sake of the future would-be Heart of Grima – who for all she knew may fall in love with the future Exalt – Grima needed to be ended, that they may never face the same pain and strife that she herself had.

" **YOU WOULD NOT DARE!"** screamed Grima, her voice quivering with anger. Though behind that anger rested true fear, for she knew this statement wasn't true in the slightest. She knew Robin would not hesitate to bring her to an end, though she didn't want to believe it. She _couldn't_ believe the woman would be so disgustingly selfless, that she'd do something so sickeningly altruistic.

"I would and I will," Robin replied quickly, the spell at her hand strengthening as she gazed into Grima's eyes in judgement. "The evils you would visit on this world are unthinkable... In some way, I—we share the blame."

Were it not for the two of them, Grima would not live at all. It was true they were only mortal, but they gave life to an immortal, willingly or not. Their beings allowed for the fell dragon to prosper, and with their end, so would end his reign over the world. So would end all three of their lives, and the world would be freed.

"It's only right we meet our end together!"

She closed her eyes in resolution, her cloak billowing at her feet as she stood ready before Grima. Validar had been wrong about her destiny. Perhaps in another life, she was destined to bring life to the fell dragon, but alas, this was a new life. Her destiny, her purpose now, was to end the cycle of Grima's terror. When Chrom had asked if she was ready to end this battle she'd told him yes. And ready she was to do so. _'Once and for all.'_

And with a final swing of her arm and the firing of a spell, her destiny – the one she'd determined on her own – was fulfilled.

" **NOOOOO!"**

An era of darkness would meet its end, and a new one of light would see its dawn.

But for the sun to rise on a time of peace, she would have to fall.

So be it.

* * *

 **Made it 320 words before I just started dry sobbing. This is such a goddamn beautiful game, and the music is so... I can't hear Purpose without... I-... I just-...** hernobleness .exe has stopped working.

 **A little underwhelming, I know, and I'm sorry. I intentionally left it short, though, because I didn't want it to turn into a long-ass novelization.**

 **(Also I hated changing up a canon event, but I couldn't go with the implication that Chrom was right next to Robin when he/she is about to land the final blow. Like bruh he's not just gonna stand there through that whole monologue as Robin is clearly about to go against the promise.)**


	36. Grima has returned to slumber

**Grima has returned to slumber**

The sun set over Castle Ylisstol, its warm oranges and yellows shining down through the tall windows of every hallway and bathing each room in its light.

Prince Chrom, newly having accepted the title of Exalt, stood in the hall of portraits hung in the eastern wing of the castle. The sun shone down on warm stone walls and deep red curtains, highlighting as well a painting of his family – he and Emmeryn beside their parents, their mother still pregnant with Lissa. Next to it, a picture of Emmeryn grown and alone, her peaceful gaze watching over her brother as he stood before her, staring at the next portrait in line.

His gaze rested softly on the painting of him and his wife. It was posed, and gods but standing for it had taken an eternity! But that day... what he wouldn't give to relive those hours standing next to Robin, her hand poised in his own...

"Get back here, you rapscallion!"

The sound of feet bounding down the halls drew his attention away, rather suddenly accompanied by a loud shout.

His daughter ran from around the corner, surprisingly sure on her feet for a toddler of not even two years. Her arms swung beside her as an energetic smile shone on her cheeks. Behind her, Morgan chased her from a safe distance away, careful to give her a lead as she bound up to her father's legs.

"Papa, help!" she shouted, grabbing onto Chrom's boot. A warm chuckle escaped his mouth as he reached down to stroke her head, but Morgan beat him to the punch.

"You'll never escape my clutches, princess!" the young teenager cried dramatically, finally swooping in to grab his younger sister. "NEVEEER!"

Lucina squealed and giggled as Morgan drew her up off the ground by her underarms, swinging her through the air a bit as he did so.

Chrom smiled, endeared by Morgan's ease in adopting the role of older brother. He expected it was a nice change of pace for him after only ever being watched over as a little brother to the other Lucina. Warmly, he warned his son, "Not too rough now, Morgan."

With an indignant look, Morgan clutched his sister closer to his chest and looked his father in the eyes. "Who is this Morgan of which you speak?" he asked, his voice gravelly and fully in character. "I am Jedah! Evil sorcerer and kidnapper of princesses!"

Before Chrom had a chance to play along, a shout echoed from the other end of the hall.

"Halt, fiend!"

In the distant oaken doorway, a figure in yellow robes could barely be recognized as Owain with a fake, wooden sword in hand.

"No. It can't be!" Morgan cried, gripping Lucina tighter in his arms and feigning total shock as his brown eyes widened.

"Unhand the fair maiden at once, rogue, lest you incur the wrath of Owain Dusk!"

Lucina braced her hands on Morgan's chest and turned to look over her shoulder. Her eyes lit up at the sight of her older cousin as he bound towards the sibling duo. "Owain!"

As Owain neared closer, Morgan began to run in the other direction, Lucina reaching for her cousin over her brother's shoulders and laughing the whole way. Chrom backed towards the wall and out of their way as they ran for the doors.

"You'll never catch me, fool prince!"

Just as they were exiting the hallway, the older Lucina entered. Morgan would've run her down had she not sidestepped him and her cousin as they bound past her. Her eyes widened in shock, she watched them go with a small chuckle.

"I'd wager this game is more for them than Lucina," she said through a laugh as she turned to approach her father.

He could see as she came to stand at his side that there was a bittersweetness to her happiness. Though she smiled, he knew her well enough to recognize the look in her eyes when she began reflecting on her past. It was a look he saw more often when she was around her younger self.

The younger Lucina was receiving a childhood she had never had. But like a coin, her sadness always had another side. She had fought hard for that life for young Lucina, and to see her laughing and growing up without worries was the truest sign that her struggles had not been in vain. Grima had returned to slumber for eternity, and the young princess could grow up free of his shadow.

Her father recognized all of this emotion without a need to ask, and when his eldest daughter placed her hand in his, he squeezed it back understandingly. She said nothing on the topic, rather opting to gaze at the same portrait at which her father had been staring. The pensive look left her eyes and was replaced by something softer.

"Is this the portrait from your coronation?" she asked Chrom, her brows pinched upwards and eyes widened, impressed and curious.

"Yes. We had it commissioned in honor of our wedding," he answered. A pain went through his chest remembering that day, and the two blessed years they'd spent with one another before the next war had come. "We were going to have another painting made at your birth, but then Valm happened, and... Well, this is all we're left with."

"You both look stunning."

Chrom let out a weak chuckle. He took notice of his and Robin's robes, rich and regal in their color, high quality in their material, uncomfortable in their weight (if memory served him right). "Your mother always hated being in full regalia. Truth be told, so did I. But we suffered through it together."

From within the ornate wooden frame, above the end table still collecting flowers of tribute, the young royal couple gazed down upon Chrom and Lucina. The pose was stiff – Chrom's back straight, one hand raised near his ribs with Robin's finger's clasped over it as she stood just in front of his shoulder – but they were posed closer than any of the other couples since his great-grandparents. They'd been the first in three generations to marry for love, and the painter had made it visible.

Ye in his mind, he knew he hadn't looked so gentle through the entire session as he'd been painted, nor had Robin.

" _My arm is arching," he'd complained to his wife. Two hours, their hands had been clasped raised and stiffly at his chest. His left arm had been fine at his side, but holding the right one up had been becoming more and more challenging. The blue cape he hated oh so much had been weighing down heavily on him, and his robes were beginning to get far too hot for a summer's evening._

 _Robin had laughed a small laugh, careful to move as little a possible so as not to shift the way the light fell on her dress. "Mine, too," she'd replied. "Don't worry. Just a bit longer, and we'll be left to only each other again."_

 _Chrom had squeezed her hand a bit tighter through their gloves, and on a whim he'd leaned forward to plant a kiss on her cheek._

" _Please, do stand still, Your Excellency," the painter had chastised him over Robin's laugh, gazing without amusement over the canvas._

 _Chrom had leaned back and resumed the same position as before, but a smile had lingered on his face for a moment longer. With a sideways glance at Robin, he saw the same was true for her._

That was the moment their painter had captured. Their eyes were softer than before, their smiles resuming a look of dignity but tainted with actual happiness. They _had_ been truly happy in that moment together.

On that day, Chrom had been able to look and see his wife at his right hand. Now, where she had stood, he saw his daughter – _their_ daughter – holding his hand instead. And all at once, her small similarities to Robin were clear as day. She may have held herself like her father, she may have had his hair and his eyes, but in that instant where he found himself between reverie and reality, she morphed into her mother.

"You have her smile," he said, his voice unintentionally soft. Lucina's eyes left the portrait of her parents as her father brushed a strand of her fringe behind her ear, a gentle smile on his face. Two sets of loving gray eyes met one another. Lucina's smile grew larger, as though her lips alone could connect her to the woman she'd inherited them from, if for only a moment.

Gripping Chrom's hand a bit tighter, Lucina moved closer and set her gaze back upon the painting, a thoughtful look in her eyes. She sighed, barely audible.

"Do you really think she... she's still out there?" she asked quietly, sounding undecided on her own opinion on the matter. As always, she looked to her father to give her all the answers.

There was no doubt in his mind when he replied, "I _know_ so."

Naga herself had said Robin could survive if her bonds with those close to her were strong enough. They would serve as her tether to this world, that Grima's death wouldn't take her life as well. Robin's bonds to her friends were undeniably strong, and her bond with Chrom was...

Well, it was strong enough to have formed despite their being the descendants of gods sworn to be enemies, deep enough to grow into a love that trumped all destinies, and true enough that it had remained a constant through who knew how many worlds.

Robin could not be dead. Chrom could feel it in himself that their bond was not broken – it _couldn't_ be broken, and he was sure many of his friends shared the same feeling. The feeling was a lack of true grief, for somehow their hearts knew there was nothing to mourn. She was still out there somewhere, waiting for him. Waiting for Lissa, for Frederick and Sumia and all of her friends. Her family.

"And we'll find her."

* * *

 **So I know you were probably expecting a heart-wrenching, post-Grima, "Oh God, Robin is gone" chapter. But Chrom was canonically pretty calm (for the aforementioned reasons, in my belief). Do I believe he probably went and cried in his and Robin's tent after that big, inspirational speech of his after Grima fell? Abso-freakin'-lutely. Because yes, it is sad that Robin isn't there with them in the end.**

 **But all in all, this is not a sad story, so I didn't want a sad chapter. This is the story of a woman who defied destiny and chose love, who saved the whole world and secured a brighter future for everyone. She was brave and selfless, and her friends and family have every right to be proud of her, even if they're sad she's gone. For now.**

 **This is a happy story.**


	37. Better places

**There are better places...**

Sunlight broke through tired eyelids.

A bright blue sky behind two figures above her.

One princess' smile, warm as the summer air around them.

The familiar voice of a prince, as kind and soothing to her heart as it had been in years past.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know."

One gloved hand reaching down for her.

 _If you fall..._

"Give me your hand."

 _I will be there..._

Her hood falling as strong arms pulled her to her feet to hold her close and gentle.

 _To pull you back up._

"Welcome back."

"It's over now."

* * *

 **Wow. I actually _finished_ a project... This is a first.**

 **Thank you to everyone who actually followed this. Even bigger thank you to everyone who reviewed - you guys kept me motivated, and I never would've written almost 100K words if not for your encouragements :)**

 **Have at me, MagatsuIza.**


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